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THIS ISSUE: Making tracks
Election brouhaha
AMS Elections continue their
troubled voyage. Page 3.
H, I, J... K!
UBC and Danish theatre collaboration
reviewed. Pase 7.
The nordic ski team takes on 100 Mile.
House. Page 8.
NEXT TUESDAY:
AMS Exec report
cards
Last year's Executives performance.
THE UBYSSEY
Volume 85 Issue 29
magazine
^#Friday, January 16, 2004
Grossly bthind motherfuckIng< schedule since If 18 ELECTIONS
A STUDENT GUIDE TO THE AMS, SENATE, BoG, STUDENT LEGAL FUND SOCIETY 8c UPS ELECTIONS
PrPsidpTl t ^HE President is the spokesperson for the Alma Mater Society. The President
chairs the Student Council, the Executive Committee, and the working groups.
Questions for the candidates: . - - "
1) What was the defining issue for this academic year
and why?
2) How will you ensure that you are accessible to students, combat student apathy in AMS politics and be
accessible to staff within the AMS?
3) How much money has the AMS/GSS health plan
lost since its inception? What are your future plans for
the health plan?
Robert Cross, Radical Beer Faction
If I think that some of the major issues of
this, academic year were the battles
over tuition increases, differential tuition
for the Engineers, and the fact that the AMS
again proved that they could not receive
acceptable voter turnout in yet another
referendum.
However, the most important change in
student life this year was the creation and
implementation of the U-Pass. This pass,
which allows all to have a safe ride home after a long night of
drinking, has also given us a voice to bring issues to
Translink. Already we have helped implement, along with our
new 4am shut-down of bars, all-night transit routes during
parts of the week. This is something I've yearned for since I
first set foot on this campus. No longer do I need to walk back
from downtown on Saturday night at 2 am. Finally transit has
become a viable designated driver.
2) In my view, most of the important discussions and decisions in industry occur over a few drinks. In order to be
accessible to the students at UBC, I believe that the executive should take part in as many club gatherings as possible,
preferably the ones where the members are, let's say, 'the
most honest" about their feelings.
As for the AMS staff, these people are undeniably valuable to the smooth operation of the many services which
we offer the student body. This staff needs, just as much as
all of us, some time off and a good drink. As President; I
would implement more social gatherings between the different areas of AMS Staff and would make sure that our
volunteers felt comfortable approaching the administra
tion with any ideas or concerns they might have.
3) Any person who has ever been on a binge drinking excursion knows the pains and sufferings that usually accompany
these events. As RBF Candidate for President, I also feel these
pains. The AMS/GSS health plan has given us care after these
events. It has subsidised drug prescriptions to care for our
aches and pains, and has helped to reimburse charges for
medical treatment for all those drunk injuries. The fact is, as
long as we plan for this campus to be "wet,' we need to insure
that our drunk populace is covered by a medical plan.
From this, my plans for the AMS/GSS health plan are simple: keep it in its intact state, ensure that our student body
understands that they do have the option to opt out if they
have sufficient coverage, and take feedback from the student
body on what they do in fact want covered. /
Joel McLaughlin, The Right Choice
1} While some might be tempted to argue
that tuition increases were the paramount
issue of the past year, I Would argue
that chronic housing shortages posed
as much of a challenge to the university
student population.
From waiting lists reaching hundreds of
students to third-year sudents mistakenly
being placed in junior residences, housing
has affected nearly every UBC student in a
direct or indirect way. .■';
If elected, I will immediately initiate communication with
UBC Housing to begin the construction of new and affordable
student residences on campus. This will be possible with the
help of major corporate sponsors like Interfor, TD Canada
Trust or General Motors. While it is important to remember
historical figures like Walter Gage who have dedicated their
lives to UBC, I believe that we would all benefit from a
Microsoft Towers or Molson Hall.
This January, don't get left behind-make the Right Choice.
2) "Without vision, the people perish." Those are the words
inscribed above the Peace Tower in Ottawa, and they provide a
window into the underlying reasons behind widespread student apathy at UBC.
After three years of ineffective, incompetent and invisible
student government, it is no surprise that the silent majority of
students are disinterested in student politics.
I believe thajt student .apathy can only be overso'me with a
strong and inspirational vision for the future. I envision a
state-of-the-art Student Union Building. I also want to see the
Pit's capacity expanded by one hundred patrons and its hours
extended on Friday nights. I will also introduce off-sales at
the Gallery, and relax regulations around beer gardens
on campus.
It is these kind of common sense ideas that will motivate stu
dents to take a renewed interest in the affairs of our
student government
3) The health plan came in at a whopping $884,000 over budget over the past year. While it is obvious to everyone that our
current health plan is simply unsustainable, we have seen a
remarkable lack of solutions from those who have
been involved in AMS government.
The results of the latest failed referendum (3500 voting
fof no fee increase to 3QQQ voting for a fee increase) are
hardly surprising as the referendum question was Simply
not sufficient
If elected, I would expore the possibility of a multi-tiered
health plan, much like the ones offered in many careers.
Students could pick and choose the benefits they desire at different price levels. This is a far better solution than simply raising the plan fee across the board, an idea that lacks creativity
and efficacy. /
Amina Rai, Student Progressive Action Network
1) What was the defining issue for this academic year and why?
There has been many concerned issues
regarding academics and education at UBC
thisyear.
Currently, I sit on the UBC Board of
Governors. During this academic year, I
have felt that the most important issue has
been the overall university consultation
process with students. The consultation
process has been a main focal flaw in the university development plans for the campus. Many students feel that their voices were not heard when the University Boulevard plan had
been approved. The university will soon be conducting a
tuition proposal consultation process. It is extremely essential
for the AMS executives to work hard in lobbying the UBC
admin in a fair, meaningful consultation. As elected President,
I will lobby the university with my executive team in continu
ing the work of the current VP academic (previous elected
SPAN candidate) in demanding a clear policy of consultation. I
will ensure that policy is implemented in all issues the UBC
admin addresses to students.
2) The most effective way of dissolving apathy and involving
students in campus issues is by disseminating information
successfully across a wide base of students. I believe that as
elected President, I must create strong communication links
with all UBC student organisations on campus. By building concrete relationships, I feel the whole student population, can
take a strong, united stance on issues such as tuition, campus
safety, campus development and quality of education. As elected President, I can best be accessible to students by establishing communication methods such as office hours in the SUB
main concourse, one on one meetings with student groups and
and AMS'executive specific newsletter, etc. I also believe that
the AMS staff should also have a direct link to the President
through regular meetings. Ultimately, to avoid a fragmented
AMS structure, accessibility calls for strong working relationships between the President and the students and staff.
3) As elected President of the AMS, I will see to it that students'
needs are met I believe in order to structure a plan for the
future of student health care, student consultation is essential.
The AMS must first receive feedback and direction from students in regards to what they wish to have from their student
health plan before another referendum can be conducted. I feel
that the past failed referendum was the result of the poor dissemination of information to students in regards to the issues
concerning the current health plan. SPAN, the Student
Progressive Action Network strongly believes in not only representing student needs, but also creating a continuous relationship of communication, accessibility and direction
between the students and the AMS. /
Sam Saini, Students for
1) In my opinion, the most important development for post-secondary education would
be die much talked about changeover in the
Prime Minister's Office. For years we have
i-wii universities suffer funding shortfalls
that have led to physical maintenance
issues, the cutting of core programs, the loss
of top faculty and an increase in tuition fees
with no commensurate increase in the quality Of education. With a new leader for this
country, we are primed to hold our elected leader accountable
and ensure that education is made a priority for this nation and
that all educational institutes receive an increase in operating
grants to push Canada to the forefront of knowledge-based
economies and societies in the world. The significance of this
development cannot be understated and all students must be
Students
allowed to add their input to shape education for the future.
2) Accessing students can be done in a variety of ways. For
some time the AMS has been blessed with the many constituency society representatives attending our AMS council
meetings. However, there has been no reciprocity in this
arrangement and what I hope to do is attend as many con-
situency meetings as I am welcome to and ensure that all of our
elected representatives have to access to me. Student apathy is
a concern and I hope to combat it through forums and round-
table discussions to engage students in the issues that matter.
I believe that students have a desire to get involved, but have a
difficult time understanding the process. Thus if I can assist in
bringing forth the facts, I hope to get students involved. As far
as AMS staff isconcerned, I have an open-door policy and I
hope to schedule regular appointments to ensure access.
3) The AMS/GSS Healthplan isn't losing money per se, but the
issue is that, due to popularity, we have had to cut benefits to
ensure that the policy amount we pay in balances with the total
claims students make each year. This amount varies from year
to year but it has led to cuts to benefits that students used
to enjoy (eyeglass care was originally on the plan, but is
now gone).
I firmly believe that Health insurance is important for the
student body and I am committed to re-consulting with students to ensure they have the health benefits'they desire. If we
are satisfied with the current benefits, then I will make sure
that it is efficiently managed and cost-effective. However, if students desire additional benefits, then I will make every effort to
provide those benefits at a high quality and affordable rate. / NEWS
CLASSIFIEDS
UBC JOURNAL OF POLITICAL
STUDIES CALL FOR PAPERS
Undergraduate students wishing to
publish thdr work are encouraged to
submit 2500 word essays in political
. theory, international relations, and
Canadian or comparative politics to:
poli.scijouinal@yartoo.ca. Deadline:
January 30, 2004.
TUESDAY JAN 27 UBC SKATE &
PARTY CLUB PRESENTS The HBS
Oz Skateboard video premiere 9 The Pit
Pub. Live DJs, Cheap Drinks, Giveaways
Doors at 9PM. Show up already.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AND THE
UBC WRITING CENTRE
BOOK SALE FRIDAY, 16 JANUARY
2004 at the Writing Centre (Ponderosa
Annex C) from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00"p.m.
Hardbacks: one dollar, paperbacks: 50
cents. Back issues of journals, are free
(wich the exception of Canadian
Literature, at 25 cents each). Proceeds
will go to scholarships and prizes in die
Department and the Writing Centre.
WITNESS TO ACCIDENT AT
BROADWAY AND ALMA WANTED
involving white van and woman in a
wheelchair with service dbg. Contact
604.904.1166 or 604.827.0156
ervices
THE BIKE KITCHEN is your campus
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82-Spced. . '
. HEADS UP!! Irs a new yea/, time for a
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With training for Vidal Sassoon, Pivot
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the ubyssey tnagaifne
PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, January 16,2004
WORD PROCESSING AND
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services for students and instructors.
Thesis and APA format experience. Call
Diane at 465-5524.
STUCK ON A TOUGH ESSAY?
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instructor. Call Dianne at (604) 662-
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604.688.6138. We've got Philosophy,
Queer Lit, Sociology, books and
(maga)zines on anti-imperialism,
feminism, First Nations Lit, Art, Fiction,
Poetry... We are a collectively-run, nonprofit bookstore.
VOLUNTEER TUTORS NEEDED!
Frontier College, National literacy
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work in schools/alternative programs in
East Vancouver. Good experience for
EDUCATION! #604-713-5848
frontiercollege02<S'yahoo.ca
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SPORTS WEAR EMBROIDERY
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rep. Clothworks fax: 604.263.4348,
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SUMMER CAMP COUNSELORS ON
CAMPUS INTERVIEWS FOR
PREMIER CAMPS IN
MASSACHUSETTS Positions available
for talented, energetic, and fun loving
students as counselors in all team sports
including Roller Hockey and Lacrosse,
all individual sports such as Tennis &
Golf, Waterfront and Pool activities and
specialty activities including art, dance,
theatre, gymnastics, newspaper, rocketry
and radio. GREAT SALARIES, room,
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June 17th-August J 3th. Enjoy a great
summer thai promises to be
unforgettable. For more information and
to apply: MAH_KEE_NAC
www.campmkn.com: 1-800-753-9118.
Interviewei will be on campus Monday
March Ist-lOam -4:00pm in the Student
Union Building (SUB)-Rpora 212.
News this week;
-2 protests & a leprechaun
- ams elections heat up
- election officer chosen
Arts this week:
- 3 book reviews
Sports this week:
- ski bunnies ■ ""
tStJjjt-tlicJiJrLhxL H.axl!xr~
lawn >oi.<>t™J
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
CAMPUS SC COMMUNITY PLANNIN
www.planning.ubc.ca
PUBLIC MEETING*
THEOLOGICAL NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
Date: Thursday, January 22,2004
Times 5s30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Location: St. Andrew's Chapel, 6040 Iona Drive
The Theological Neighbourhood Plan was formally adopted in 2001.
Development consistent with the Official Community Plan (1997) and
Neighbourhood Plan is
currently underway.
In 2003, neighbourhood
leaseholders approved a
complementary agreement on
site specific design and
development requirements. As
a result of the refinements
incorporated during the
development of the site
specific requirements there are
some inconsistencies between
the Theological
Neighbourhood Plan land use
map and the development
area map in the site specific
design and development
requirements.
The University and the Theological Neighbourhood community propose to
make the Theological Neighbourhood Plan land use map consistent with the
2003 site specific requirements agreement development area map. This meeting
is an opportunity for the public to comment on the update of the land use
map.
dv
This event is wheelchair accessible. For mote information about
assistance forpersons with disabilities call (604) 822-6930 or email
karly.henney(<?ube.ca.
Questions or for more information please contact:
• Jim Carruthers, Campus & Community Planning,
Email: jim.catruchers@ubc.ca, or
■ Michael Kingsmill, Alma Mater Society, Phone: (9604) 822-5000
WANTED ACCOMMODATION
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OBO. Call Dave at 604.822.1654.
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR STUDENTS!
looking for a roommate?
Got something to sell?
Or just nave an announcement to make?
If you are a student, you can glace
classifieds for FREE!
For more information, visit
Boom 23 in the SUB
[basement] or call 822-1654.
In the article "Tuition proposal by
January, says UBC official* in the
Tuesday, January 13 issue of the
Ubyssey, Faculty Association
President Richard Anstee was
quoted as saying the cost to the
university of a two per cent salary
increase for the faculty was $10
million. The number he supplied
was $4 million.
VOTE: AMS VP External candidates Dan Anderson, Spencer Keys
and Michael Tylor square off at a forum. Michelle mayne photo
Elections kick off
by Hywel Tuscano
NEWS STAFF
Debates, forums and slightly Iess-
than-usual apathy kicked off the
Alma Mater Society (AMS) elections this week, giving candidates
for the AMS Executive, UBC Senate
and UBC Board of Governors a
chance to display their platforms.
The all candidates' forum yesterday in the SUB's Conversation
Pit was a change from ill-attended
forums of years past, attracting
about 60 students during the
lunchtime rush. More than ten students asked questions about
upcoming campus. development
and rising tuition.
Presidential candidate Joel
McLaughlin supported tuition
increases, arguing that students
benefited when a policy to hold
tuition steady was removed.
"The tuition freeze was unsustainable," he said, pointing to proposed increases in the quality of
education. But, it was unfortunate
that tuition was increased so quickly, he added.
McLaughlin, the leading candidate for the new slate, The Right
Choice, is also the president of the
UBC Young Conservatives.
There has been no link made
with the UBC administration,
which is the way to work effectively
to reduce tuition, said Students'
Progressive Action Network presidential candidate Amina Rat
"I'm against tuition increases
because the quality of education
has not improved," she said.
SPAN candidates focused on
diversity, visible action and
informing students about university machinations. Some SPAN candidates said they would give $2000
of their own salary to various causes, an echo of current SPAN vice-
presidents' donations to the Sexual
Assault Support Centre.
Commenting on government
funding cuts and rising tuition, SfS
presidential candidate Sam Saini
said, "When there are more students but less funding, the quality
of education diminishes."
EVENTS
RALLY
Protest the deportation and torture of Maher Arar, Vancouver Art
Art Gallery (steps at Georgia and
Hornby), Jan 17 at 12:00pm
Support the inquiry regarding the
unlawful deportation of Maher Arar
to Syria despite his Canadian
passport
If tuition goes up, the quality of
education should as well, he said.
The SfS campaign platform consistently focuses on lobbying the government and the student consultation process.
Members of the ubiquitous
Radical Beer Faction (RBF)-the
oldest slate, established in 1988—
were up to their usual hijinx at the
forums: publicly two-fisting drinks
while pantless, jangling bells and
encouraging intoxication.
"If we get ten per cent of the
vote, we'll throw a party, most likely involving a keg," said Radical
Beer Faction presidential candidate Rob Cross. Ten per cent of the
vote is the amount required to
retain an election deposit. In past
elections, the RBF has planned to
donate those deposits to campus
inebriety.
SfS swept the five executive
positions for three out of the last
four elections. SPAN, now in its
second year running, broke the SfS
sweep and had two candidates
elected last year.
This year, most of the positions
are contested by four slates on
campus and a handful of independents.
But most candidates agreed that
the forums and debates were necessary but superficial in nature
and rarely managed to acknowledge the real issues surrounding
the elections.
"These forums are pageants,
not debates. Students need substantial debates to actually hear
what the issues are," said Spencer
Keys, an independent candidate
running for VP External.
An audience member was similarly unconvinced.
"It's a lot of fluff. Students for
Students and SPAN seem like
they're making an effort, but I
don't know, I'll have to look more
into it before I make a decision
about anything,* said Aaron Carr, a
second-year Arts student
The elections in the past two
years have had a voter turn out of
about ten per cent at around 4000
votes cast ♦
FASHION
Intuition, Third Annual ACE
Fashion Show, Atlantis Nightclub,
Jan 17 at 8:00pm, tickets $15.
What's better than watching runway models strut while talking marketing strategy? Having a free shooter while you're at it for starters. Now
that's marketing. VP, Academic arid
University Affairs
The Vice-President, Academic is responsible for internal
university issues and chairing the university
Commission.
Questions for the candidates:
1) What university policy has affected students
the most this year and why?
2) In your opinion, what are the important issues
students need to raise with the university in the
coming year, and how do you plan to lobby the
university effectively for those interests?
3) What are the goals the university should
strive towards when developing the campus?
Richard Davis, The Right Choice
1) UBC Housing's policy of raising the first-year student housing guarantee is on the surface a good one,
however, there isn't enough rooms for all other students in need of on-campus accommodation. UBC
should have constructed more housing before making
returning students-enter a lottery for re-assignment
next year. This just shows the lack of foresight on
UBC's part and the invisibility of the AMS on this issue.
They have been nowhere. The Right Choice believes
that there is a pressing need for student housing at
UBC. With off-campus rent skyrocketing and the 2010
Olympics on the horizon, the time to build is now. Not
only to give students affordable, safe accommodation,
but to enhance their UBC experience as your time at
university should be the best time of your life.
2) Safety, financing your education, and improving the
quality of your education; these things made me
decide to run for this position. For years, the AMS
has been bullied around by the UBC administration
on these issues, and therefore have had little
results. Its time to stand up for the students for a
change and achieve the progress we want and
deserve. The campus needs more safety features
such as more lighting, patrols and an additional
security bus. With the government having less and
less money to subsidise your education, more UBC
money should be spent on bursaries and scholarships for those needing assistance. You deserve an
AMS that fights for more classrooms and more sections of classes so you can actually get into the
course that you want to. If elected, I guarantee that
I will be in the face of UBC administration, so your
concerns will be heard for once.
3) UBC must always keep student needs paramount in
their strive for developing the campus. Safety must be
high, as I believe an underground busloop will become
a haven for crime during non-peak hours and on weekends. The University Town Plan as it stands right now is
a complete farce. $300,000 dollar condos should be
replaced by affordable student housing. Not only for
students who already are in the housing system, but
those that commute from places like Ladner and Maple
Ridge because they can't get into housing. Student
owned and operated businesses should also be allowed
to continue to flourish and not be hurt by the construction of private entities directiy in front of the SUB. UBC
needs to place environmental sustainabilty as a priority
in developments on campus. The amount of trash that
UBC produces on a daily basis is unacceptable! We do
not need more. /
Jama Mahlalela, Students for Students
1) Housing has become a major concern on the UBC
campus over the last few years and will continue to be
next year, as students deal with over-crowding and a
shortage of beds. However, this can change with effective planning and consultation between residence
groups, the administration and the AMS. It is my goal
to open lines of communication between these groups
to ensure not only a reduction in over-crowding but
also the maintenance of a vibrant and community-
driven residence system. We have a vast resource in
the residence advisors and residence association, and
they must play a central role in working to ensure that
student needs and concerns are not only heard, but
acted on by the university-.
2) I think that one of the central concerns that students
have with UBC is its sheer size, and with that difficul
ties in building a strong and connected community.
I think the true development of community comes
from development of our residence system, effective
campus development, promotion of our intramural
and active living programs and maintaining a safe
and accessible campus. To do this we must find ways
to open lines of communication between the many
different groups and organisations on campus. We
have a diverse campus and we must find ways to
celebrate that, to engage our differences and build
our community from that The AMS and university
should attempt to tackle this issue and hopefully
with a strong, committed AMS executive this will
happen.
3) The development of the UBC campus has the
potential to increase the UBC community, services
and overall excellence of our university, but only if
done correctly. There is much that needs to be
worked on in terms of consultation with student
groups and the development of a more effective
consultation plan for future development As the
university develops its plans, it must look to create a
campus that is more pedestrian friendly and conserves green space while at the same time providing
the most accessible buildings and more effective
parking structures. UBC is a beautiful campus and it
must be maintained, it is home to thousands of students who help make UBC one of thg best campuses^
in Canada. With your vote and support for Students
For Students we can work to improve the UBC community. Remember to vote, remember to have fun.
Thanks, Jama/
Brenda Ogembo, Student Progressive Action Network
1) Policy 72 in my opinion has affected students
most this year. It stipulates that no domestic student will be denied a place at UBC due to financial
constraints. Yet UBC tuition fees are on the rise,
and the process of getting a loan is complicated and
often doesn't yield sufficient funds for students. I
would like to see this policy placed into effect with
no student genuinely being turned down, and with
less complicated processes of access to student
loans and bursaries for students including transfer
students. There also needs to be more affordable
housing because often a student may manage to
raise the money for tuition, but are then stranded
having no money for living expenses. Affordable
housing plans in Campus development would help
ease this burden, and I plan to push for this.
2) Fighting tuition fee increases needs to be taken on,
and I plan to push for a proactive approach rather
than a benign approach to issues around tuition-
including international students who are often forgotten at BC, but whose fees are close to $17,000. I
also plan to raise awareness of the Teaching
Excellence Initiative, following on elected SPAN VP
Academic Laura Best's efforts to get the comprehensive teaching evaluations available online for
Arts by spring. I plan to push for the expansion of
this project to other faculties. Furthermore, I plan
to continue supporting the Sexual Assault Support
Center, ensuring that they have office space and
the support of the AMS. Following the precedent
set by the two elected SPAN AMS Executives, I plan
to donate $2000 dollars of my executive salary,
$1000 towards Africa Awareness week 2005 and
$ 1000 towards a bursary for an international student in need.
3) Students need to be at the core of any campus
development plans and need to be a part of the con
sultation processes. I plan to see that our views are
incorporated into the plans that have been made or^
that are yet to be made. Affordable student housing
needs to be a priority in campus development
plans. I will push for this, as well ensuring that
most of the buildings such as housing complexes
and neighbourhoods opened up are not left exclusively for more affluent members of the UBC community and Vancouver at large, but are accessible
and intended for the UBC community keeping this
demographic as a priority and a majority.
Sustainability and environmental awareness are
needed developing the campus. The UBC farm
needs to be intergrated in die plans to develop
south campus, so that the farm is valued as a
resource to UBC. /
Quinn Omori, Radical Beer Faction
1) Obviously the alcohol policy. If you're left or right
wing, or centrist, chances are you drink on this campus. Do I believe in safety as a major issue? Of course.
That doesn't mean that a beer needs to be $2 minimum. According to these numbers the average student would need $50 just for one Friday of boozing. As
VP Academic I would push to reform the campus alcohol policy to allow for no minimum price for the
wacky sauce. In addition, I would bring the booze back
to AMS council. The AMS already governs like a drunk
on St Patty's day, a little (or a lot of) booze can only,
improve things.
2) Well, this is a little redundant isn't it? Beer affects
us all, so obviously the issue of beer (or hard liquor or
wine—we don't discriminate) is of utmost importance.
In addition, beer gardens and other alcohol flavoured
events frequently bring in money which can be used to
offset rising tuition costs. In addition, an on campus
recycling facility would also improve sustainability.
See? Alcohol can solve your problems.
3) I walk around campus, I look at the OCP, CCP and
whatever other plans the University has, and what do
I see? Encroachment on Wreck Beach, the prime
drinking spot for drunk Totem and Vanier kids, a blatant disregard for alcohol-fueled events that depend
on open spaces like Coconut and even the Welcome
Back BBQ. If there's going to be massive development on this campus, it should cater to the drunk
majority. What we need is skywalks. Yes, SKYWALKSI
How many times have you had to stumble home '.
drunk at two am after Pit Night in the pissing rain,
falling in puddles on the way. If elected, I will fight
for skywalks connecting every building on this campus so you can slither home to Gage on your belly if
need be and still stay dry. / PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, January 16,2004
the ubyssey magazine'
NEWS
3
Last minute election shuffle
Two new appointments add to controversy swirling around AMS elections
by Megan Thomas and Jonathan Woodward
NEWS EDITORS
After hours of late-night, closed-door deliberation Wednesday
night, the Alma Mater Society (AMS) council rejected its own
elections administrator just days before the AMS elections.
The decision leaves the AMS in a position where two senior elections staff—the elections administrator (EA) and the
newly hired chief returning officer (CRO)—have only three
days to be trained before voting begins.
The decision to reject Sundeep Chandan's appointment
was made in a private part of the AMS meeting and the reasons for it cannot legally be shared by members of the
society.
But an AMS official says the elections must go on despite
. the last-minute change.
"I hope that the elections...can be as well run and as fair
as possible,' said AMS President Oaha Chirila. 'It is my feeling that we will try and make a bad situation as good as
possible."
. When former elections administrator Christine Tai left for
Australia in December, Chandan was hired by a committee
under council. The appointment was contingent on the
approval of the student council, which was meeting for the
first time since Chandan was hired. The short timeline to
hire caused the unusual situation of having an EA work on an
election before being approved by council.
On Wednesday, council decided not to approve his
appointment. Instead, they voted to hire Anthony Waldron,
an applicant for the vacant position of CRO.
Chandan was told of the decision in a phone call from
AMS General Manager Bernie Peets at 12:30am when the
Council meeting ended. He said he was not told specifically
why he was being released, save for general statements
about his 'maturity* and the way that he handled
complaints.
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JOB? The former elections administrator discusses
changes that were made. Michelle mayne photo
While he did hope to be told the specific reason he was
released, he recognised the attempts made to stave off conflicts of interest by prohibiting councillors involved with the
elections from voting about his appointment and wished his
successors well.
"I'm not the best in their minds and whoever is next is,
then that's fine with me,' he said.
Despite the late leadership change, Waldron said he is
confident that the elections can and will continue as planned
and that the elections team is qualified.
"They know what is going on. They know what they are
doing," he said. "Nothing ever goes smoothly in the elections.
I don't think it is going to be any worse than it usually is.'
Chirila said the position of EA had to be filled at
Wednesday's meeting for the elections to go forward and she
is pleased that the situation was resolved,
"I'm just glad that we have a full elections committee
because there is already one of the members at large that is
sitting out because of a conflict of interest," she said.
Election committee member Paula Martz's sister Sarah
Martz is running for the Senate under the Students'
Progressive Action Network slate. While first allowing Paula
Martz to continue with her job as long as everyone was aware
of her status, Waldron has now asked her to step aside.
"I have decided it's only fair that Paula Martz...temporal
ily step aside from any elections duties until the end of these
particular elections because of her conflict of interest," said
Waldron.
This latest shuffle is another blemish on an already tempestuous election period.
Three Students for Students representatives on the executive council, two of whom are running for elected positions,
voted to cancel an Outpost store advertising campaign featuring a candidate from a competing slate.
AMS officials said the decision was made to distance AMS
businesses from the highly politicised elections, while other
executives claimed that conflicts arose because the decision
was made without consulting the elections committee and
before that candidate had declared she was running.
All decisions made by the outgoing elections administrator have been suspended and training for the new positions
began yesterday. ♦
Tuition rally turns into a political stand-off
By Dan McRoberts
NEWS WRITER
when the UBC New Democrats (NDP) hosted'
a rally to protest tuition increases.
Although rally organisers had promised
Despite the miserable rain and few students an appearance from Carole James, the
in attendance, the air was thick with fiery leader of the BC NDP party, she was not in
rhetoric for almost an hour on Tuesday attendance.
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'She's quite busy dealing with the fallout
from the Liberal organised crime scandal,"
said rally organiser Aaron O'Keefe.
Replacing James was Jim Sinclair, president of the BC Federation of Labour. In an
impassioned address™ Sinclair railed
against the education funding policies of
the BC government, saying increased
tuition would make a university education
less accessible. v
"This is a public institution. I'd like to
think that in here we get to have public
dreams, not' corporate dreams for wealthy
people,' said Sinclair to the damp crowd of
about 30 students on SUB plaza.
Sinclair also took issue with UBC's fiscal
policies, pointing out President Martha
Piper's 30 per cent raise last year—bringing
her salary to $350,000 a year, plus a possible $50,000 in performance bonuses.
Not everyone in the crowd agreed with
Sinclair.
'Mr Sinclair likes to confuse the issues.
He's also turning tuition into a political,
issue, which it shouldn't be,' said Joel
McLaughlin, president of the UBC Young
Conservatives.
The Young Conservatives showed up to
protest the event with some hastily created
cardboard placards that read, "Tuition
freeze = education freeze."
McLaughlin said no one wants tuition to
increase by 30 per cent a year, but added
that the hike was a result of a six-year
"unsustainable tuition freeze brought in by
the NDP government."
O'Keefe said he was expecting the rival
protesters to show up and does not agree
with their message.
'Just because the university becomes
expensive, doesn't make it any better," he
said. 'Has anyone seen the quality of education increase in the past two years? I don't"
think so.'
A UBC official who attended the rally said
recent tuition increases have raised the level
of education at UBC.
"We've got data that suggest that we're
starting to turn the corner on average class
size. We know we are offering more sections,"
said Brian Sullivan, UBC VP Students. "Is it
jgt
EVERYBODY TOGETHER NOW:
Students get their rally on for tuition.
LEVI BARNETT PHOTOS
happening as fast as we want? No.'
Sullivan recognises affordability is a concern, but said UBC is taking steps to alleviate
the situation.
"We're one of only two universities in
Canada with a Board-supported access policy," he said. "We're getting at the affordability issues."
But he did admit tuition increases are
likely for next year. "We've always talked
about a three-year period of increases."
Sullivan also sees students as playing an
important role in the process ofconsultation
with the BC government.
'[Students] can continue to cooperate
with us in insisting that there is an appropriate level of funding,' said Sullivan.
Sam Saini, Alma Mater Society VP
External, agrees that students can have an
impact, but said rallies are not the best strategy because of their low attendance. Saini
thinks that a research-based strategy is most
effective to lobby the government.
"We need to understand student concerns and impacts and present them to the
government as part of a report...It's a
respectable method and it's also documented,* said Saini.
But O'Keefe was pleased with the turnout
and sees it as a step towards the next
provincial election.
"This issue is going to be won at the ballot box in May 2005. I want tuition to be
something that Gordon Campbell has to be
accountable for.' ♦ F YtPTTI a1 ThE Vice~President> External, deals with student issues outside of the UBC
community. The VP chairs the External Commission and is the contact for other
Questions for VP External:
student organisations.
1) How do you feel the first year of the U-Pass has gone?
Do you support the extension of the U-Pass to summer
students and to UBC staff and faculty?
2) How will you create a relationship with levels of government that affect the university? How will you work
with other student organisations to achieve this?
Dan Anderson, Radical Beer Faction
3) Changes to the student loan program have shown that
the provincial government is shifting the cost burden of
education to students. What are these changes? Do you
support them?
1) Uh, yeah, I think that's what I'm running -
I for. Hey Spence, is that what we're running
for? Good. I was afraid I had the wrong
questionnaire there for a minute. I'm still a
| little liquored after last night.
U-Pass? It's gone great Lots of students
I get pissed downtown now and fewer of
them are moronic enough to drive after-
I wards. Watching hordes of students get
. passed-by on later stops on non-Broadway
routes brought a tear to my eye, too. Of course, after I
implement my visionary Trek 2010 plans, it won't matter
anyways. After all, with personal transporters, who needs
buses? And surnmer students and faculty deserve the same
right to take an up ass. Hey, am I allowed to swear in this?
Fucking fucker fuckl Heh.
As someone said: 'Don't fight the power, feel the
power.' So vote Radical Beer Faction and embrace the flow
of alcohol!
2) I don't really think this question really matters to students. After all, do they care if I liaise with the municipal,
provincial and federal governments? No. They care about
whether they're being forced to pay ludicrous prices for
beer. And by electing me and my compatriots, they will
ensure that publicly-funded alcohol becomes a reality. Of
course, I will work with other student organisations: after
all, we'd all like cheaper beer at the Cheeze, at Cold Fusion
and at ACF. In any case, after I create and deploy an
Imperial Army and begin the process of conquering the
globe, the AMS will be comprised of all the levels of government with which it currently has relationships. Plus,
we'll get to make new maps, all one colour. Charging each
person on earth lc per month will get us enough cash to
give each UBC student a keg a month. Imaginel
3) I don't support them at all. As a concerned pseudo-
politician, I think that offloading vital education onto the
shoulders of students who are already on a steady diet of
Kraft and ramen will only serve to change that diet to
ramen and water. Humankind can't survive on bread
alone, we need beer too. Tuition went up by 53 per cent
since I've been at UBC. That means that currently I'm
spending over $1000 a year more—that's seven kegs that
I could've bought. Sevenl I'd share too if I bought them. I
wouldn't be greedy. Of course, the AMS has no part whatsoever in provincial and federal policymaking, so it's not
like anyone who says, "I will fight to change this' would
be able to anyways. So who should you vote for, the honest ones who want to use student money for student pleasure? I think so. Vote RBFI /
Holly Foxcroft, Student Progressive Action Network
1)1 believe that the students of UBC chose
wisely when they voted in last year's referendum to support the U-Pass. As noted in a
previous UBC Reports, Translink usage has
increased 50 per cent over last year!
Hooray for environmental sustainability. I
believe that the we need to renegotiate the
Translink contract to ensure a firm guarantee that there is increased bus service
to/from UBC. (In the existing contract they
broadly agreed to increase bus service across the Lower
Mainland.) In addition, while renegotiating the contract I
will push for a summer U-Pass. Why? Simply because students make a sacrifice by attending summer school and
cannot work full-time hours, so why should they have to be
further punished by purchasing a monthly bus pass? As car
usage has also dropped 20 per cent we should be actively
be encouraging staff and faculty to continue using
Translink.
2) For the past two years we have had tuition campaigns
which were not effective; they did not inform students, or
voice student concerns to the provincial and federal governments. I would like to see a tuition campaign start as soon as
possible and compile that information into a working report
A working report on tuition is a great lobbying tool. It is
imperative that we use this tool to push our agenda, as well
as form strategic alliances with other lower mainland post-
secondary institutes. They are waiting for us to join them,
especially SFU, to make our message heard to the provincial
and federal governments! Having been involved in federal
politics for the past three years, I know how and where to
push initiatives through and I do not need transition time.
It's imperative that we act immediately because we can no
longer afford to sit on our hands.
3) The provincial government has decreased the amount of
grants that students are being allotted in their second semester of study and replacing the money with BC student loans.
As well, students are not receiving enough money for the
assessed need and are having to go to their banks to increase
their line of credit Does this hurt students? Of course! It is
imperative that public institutions such as UBC remain pub-
he. I believe that if someone decides to attend university that
they make a personal contribution—if that is in student
loans, or monies they have saved—but also that the provincial and federal government contribute to their education.
We are the future of BC and of Canada and yeah, I know that
sounds cheesy but it's true. We need to communicate with
our governments and let them know that it is time to start
working together. /
, Spencer Keys ....
1) As a member of the University's U-Pass
Team I had the opportunity to work on the U-
Pass extensively and I am thoroughly pleased
with the results. Almost 40,000 passes issued
and transit usage increasing by over 50 per
cent means that this is one of the largest and
1 most successful U-Pass programs in the
world. My job this summer was to research
interest in extending the U-Pass to summer
students, so I'm focusing on them when I say
that there's a majority of support on this campus for an extension of the U-Pass and it needs to be done. However, signifi-
candy more support having two passes of two months each
rather than one four month pass all summer long. As good a
program as it is, students should not have to pay for a four
month class because they took a two week course.
2) If you visit www.spencerkeys.ca you will 2nd that this issue
will be the focus of my vice-presidency. I have three plans of
action to deal with this: a) Personally visiting each student society in this province and closing on an agreement to create a
provincial student lobbying organisation, which this province
lacks, b) Continuing the AMS's successful relationship with the
Canadian Alliance of Student Associations and lobbying at a
national level, and c) Designing an intensive media campaign
to get the public on the side of students as we move into an
important provincial election cycle. Students are smart people
so we should take a smart approach to the problem of communicating with those in power. We cannot afford to be meek in
the face of authority or shout in its face but assertively make the
case for why student rights benefit the community as a whole.
3) Effectively, the changes provide a superficial assistance
through minor tax breaks to students while allowing tuition
increases that exceed said tax breaks. I support anything that
alleviates the financial burden of education but I don't support
such actions being used to say, "We've solved student debt'
Tuition increases in British Columbia are the highest in
Canada and while I thoroughly support students paying their
share, these increases have been too much, too fast
Fortunately, Paul Martin has made commitments to Canadian
post-secondary students to eliminate parental income stipulations on federal student loans and, as it is the federal government that ultimately funds the BC Student Loan Program, the
BC Liberals will face increased pressure to remove these stipulations that force so many of us to finance our education
through bank loans. Your VP External can directly affect your
life by capitalising on this climate and ensuring positive
change in the upcoming election. /
Michael Tylor, The Right Choice
1) If the reduction in vehicle traffic is as substantial as initial figures indicate, then clearly
the first year of the U-Pass can be considered a
success. However, it is also important that we
confirm that a majority of students are indeed
taking advantage of this transit pass, as all of
us are paying for it Clearly, if the figures indicate that this is the case, then the AMS executive should look very seriously at extending the
U-Pass not only to summer students, but also
to staff and faculty.
2) The Right Choice slate has several candidates, myself
included, with extensive invplvement in both federal and
provincial politics. We as a slate have many excellent existing
contacts within both levels of government As the vice president external for the AMS, I would draw upon these
resources to achieve tangible results for the students of UBC.
One of the foundations of estabhshing any good working
relationship is solid interpersonal skills with people, which I
developed in my years of work in sales management for both
the Hudson's Bay and Sony of Canada.
3) The student loan program is an integral part of making
university education possible for many students, myself
included. It is important that we keep the student debt load
manageable. The government has taken steps in the right
direction in terms of increasing the allowable earnings limits while attending school. However, I believe that these limits could be increased even further to enable students to
keep part-time jobs if they want, without being penalised on
their loan amounts. We need to press both federal and
provincial governments for programs which will assist student debt loads after graduation. Specifically, I'm in favour
of a program which gives tax free status to the first 200 to
250 thousand dollars of income after attaining a university
degree. Ultimately, we must find ways to work within and
around this difficult financial time in British Columbia to the
benefit of students. /
Mike Yung, Students for Students
f
1) The U-Pass has had an amazing first year. We
have seen the implementation of new and
expanded services to and from UBC, such as the
non-stop express bus from Broadway and
Commercial, and the re-organisation of the UBC
bus loop in order to facilitate all-doors boarding
during peak travel periods for several routes.
Things must be done to improve the U-Pass,
including increasing peak-hour service and
adding more capacity during night time hours.
An extension of the U-Pass to summer students or faculty will create several concerns, as many summer students
only spend six weeks on campus and more faculty members drive to UBC, making it less marketable to staff. The U-
Pass was created with full-time students in mind; that is
where it should be kept for now.
2) Effective government relations come from realistic goals
and the ability to work out an agreement that will be beneficial, effective and affoardable to both students and tax payers. It is fruitless to expect or demand tuition cuts or even a
tuition freeze if there are no funds available at the provincial
level. UBC should be committed not only to short-term solutions, but long-term goals as well
UBC has an excellent working relationship with our federal lobbying association, CASA, and our first step should be
to continue advocating for more funds to the provincial government CASA has and will continue to have discussions
with Prime Minister Paul Martin, and that is an excellent
place to begin. At the provincial level, it is essential that we
are in contact with other BC universities and ensure that we
work together, with unified goals, for an affordable education
for all BC students.
3) The provincial government must realise there must be
funds available to students who need them. Differential
tuition is now a reality for several faculties on campus, and
changing the student loan program to make it more difficult to obtain financial assistance is a step in the wrong
direction. Along with tuition hikes there must be an
increase in available funds, either in student loans or
grants.
In a student loan, there are many restrictions and clauses
that affect how much (or if any) assistance is provided. How
much money your parents make, how many courses you
are taking and what kind of courses all affect the final number. It is unfair for another student, whose parents make
less money than mine, to receive more funds than I do if I
receive nothing from my parents. Issues like this have to be
voiced loudly and suitable solutions have to be found. / ^£it«yj€5Svt»*
FEATURE
the ubyssey magazine
>AGE FRIDAYi
■Friday, January 16,2004 ■
the ubyssey magazine
FEATURE
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Vote Online
January 1 7-23, 2004
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Vanier Residences Forum, 7 prti
ne beautiful fall day last
September, having lugged my precious
cargo through the serpentine lineup, I
stepped forward and greeted the
cashier with a wary smile.
"$660.80 please," she said perkily.
And that was that In one fell swoop, the
UBC Bookstore bad emptied my savings account down to my last few
measly dollars. As I adjusted my backpack' and prepared to haul my now-
broke ass home, I tried to decide why
textbooks were so damn expensive. Are
they printed on special paper? Are all
publishing houses engaged in a nefarious pricing cartel? In my quest for this
elusive knowledge, I ran into others
who had their own unique theories.
"I blame the terrorists," says UBC
student Richard Davis. "I'm a Political
Science major and ever since 9/11,
many textbooks have been updated and
I'm required to get the new versions,"
he explains.
International terrorism, however,
fails to explain why
textbooks cost more
at the UBC Bookstore
than online and other
retailers. And no,
there is no pricing
cartel." Special paper?
Not so much. So what
is the explanation?
The UBjC Bookstore has the mandate
to provide all textbooks for every UBC
course,-' Sccording. to' the specifics set
out By the various faculties, says
Bookstore Director Debbie Harvie.
"Because the content of textbooks is
of a high quality, and due to the fact that
they aren't mass marketed like a John
Grisham novel, there are increased
costs that come from the publisher,"
"The UBC
Bookstore is my
last option."
—Richard Davis
UBC student
she explains. "Because the faculties give
us specific book titles and editions, we
can't choose between various options
like on a commodity market As a
result, there are some costs to bear."
According to Harvie, the bookstore
earns approximately 2 5 per cent profit
on the average textbook. She contrasts
that with the profit margin for a regular
work of fiction or non-fiction, where the
average retailer may make anywhere
between 40 to 50 per cent
The bookstore is university-owned,
but run as an ancillary business, so all
the costs of operation are borne by the
store itself. That includes the mortgage on the bookstore building as well
as all other overhead costs.
Additionally, UBC has a contract with
the bookstore, which stipulates that
two per cent of the gross sales receipts
are transferred directly to the university. According to Harvie's figures, that
amounted to approximately $670,000 last
year.
Even though students are spending a
lot of money at the
Bookstore, Harvie
emphasises that the
store recycles a certain
amount back into programs for students.
: She points "to the
Bookstore's involvement. with Arts
Undergraduate activities and its suj>
port of campus-wide groups such as the
Legacy Games.
However, some students are not
that impressed by the store's largesse.
UBC student Sarah Gates believes that
if the store's mandate is to provide a
complete student service, then its pricing should reflect student needs.
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"Even if they are recycling money
for the students [through support of
programs, etc] they're still taking it
from us in the first place. It would be
better to offer a cheaper service," says
Gates.
As a first-year student Gates experienced the crunch of rush week book
buying last September. "I wanted to get
my books quickly, as classes were starting, and I didn't know anywhere else to
go. I'm not really a computer person, so
I wasn't aware of some of the internet
options and I didn't even know where
other book stores were located." Gates
says that she spent $700 on first term
course books from the Bookstore and
this term has actively sought cheaper
alternatives.
Is FastStart worth it?
FastStart is one way the UBC
Bookstore is endeavouring to make the
book buying process more convenient
An idea originally from the University
of Tennessee, FastStart has been in use
at UBC for almost five years. The
Bookstore packages textbooks according to the individual student's requirements and preferences, and either
delivers them to his or her home
address or makes them available for
pickup during the first week of term.
Harvie says the program, is mostly
geared towards new students.
"It's a way 'to have first-year' students
have a simpler process," she states.
Harvie says that the bookstore fills
around 2000 FastStart orders per term
and that these numbers have stayed
relatively constant Not every FastStart
user was pleased with their experience
however.
"I feel- that I was ripped off by
FastStart," says Richard Davis. "I used it
in first term of my first year, and
'hough 1 requested used books they
gave me mostly new texts. I went to the
bookstore days later and found used
copies. It was an added hassle because
I had to return the new books and buy
the used ones." But according to
Harvie',, Davis' negative experience
would seem to be in the minority.
"FastStart is very popular, and we get
consistently positive feedback from students who use it* she says.
Buying it back
Students spend hundreds on books
that might only be; useful to them for
one semester, but fortunately there is a
way to recoup at least some of those
expenses. The university Bookstore has
a buyback program, which offers 50
per cent of the current cost for new or
used texts that are dn the faculty lists
for the current or subsequent term.
From the buyer's perspective, these
used texts are sold at approximately 75
per cent of the current selling price.
Sounds like quite a reasonable arrangement but not all students are perfectly
satisfied with the system.
Sarah Gates tried ta re-sell her
Calculus 200 text, but was told that the
bookstore could not accept any more
copies of that particular book on buy-
back. Another UBC student Coreen
Leinire, has other concerns with the
buyback system-.
'In , Scienpe courses the books
change pretty much every year," she
says, "The profs always require the
by Dan MqRoberts
FEATURES WRITER
most recent editions, so if you take the
course in the first term, you might be
able to sell those books back in second
term, but not the following year."
Harvie understands student concerns,
but says that between the overhead
costs required for the maintenance of
the program and the uncertain demand
for used texts, limits have to be placed
on certain text buybacks. As for
the question of editions replaced by
newer versions, Harvie says that
the Bookstore has assisted students
by facilitating re-sales to local book
wholesalers.
Of course, the Bookstore's buyback
program is not the only way to find a
new, loving owner for your Norton
Anthology. Many students attempt the
direct route, posting flyers all over the
billboards in thet various academic
buildings. The success rate of this
method is hard to determine, but placing an 8.5' by 11' with the text name
and your phone number is no guarantee of a sale, especially in an uncontrolled environment where it fights for
attention with 700 posters for "Dan the
Tutor."
Surfing th
e sales
Is there a better way? Mike Robson
certainly believes so. Robson is the
founder of www.BCBookworm.com, a
website which offers students the
opportunity to find textbooks they
require or post listings for books they
wish to sell Running a search of texts
leads to a listing of individuals who are
offering those books and their contact
information.
Having started his site in November
of 2002, Robson has been encouraged
by the response. "It's been insane, really. As of now we have approximately
4000 books on the listings and about
1700 registered users. We're growing
very quickly." Registration, which is
free, is required in order to post a book
listing but not to browse for posted
titles. ."
Robson is a student at Kwantlen
University College where BCBookworm
has the support of the student's association. "Most of our users at this stage
are still from Kwantlen, but we are really pushing to include more students
from UBC and SFU," says Robson. At
present there are approximately 200
registered users from UBC. The idea is
to facilitate a direct student to student
exchange, and therefore the responsibility for meeting and respecting price
agreements is left to those involved.
According to Robson, this has yet to
present any problems. "I haven't had
anyone call up saying this person
screwed me over or didn't show up
when we had arranged. People have
been very good about it but obviously
we have no control over that"
The savings of going directly to your
fellow students are, in Robson's words,
"undeniable." The issue seems to be
making time to find a seller and then
meet that person for the exchange.
Some don't see that as a problem. As
Lemire says, "Meeting someone to
buy their books probably takes less
time than standing in the bookstore
lineups."
BCBookworm sounds like a promising service, but not many UBC students
are using it yet—perhaps because there
is an UBC-based service that is very
similar to what Robson's website offers.
».
1P&
A*—i a\ \ S1
ROY HAMILTON PHOTO
SUBtit!
ffe
es service surfers
SUBtitles is run by the Alma Mater
Society (AMS) and operates as a posting board for students to exchange
books directly. The online version of
SUBtitles has been running for two
years, ever since the AMS shut down
their used book store that was located
in the lower level of the SUB. AMS
General Manager Bernie Peets
describes that decision as motivated by
the economic reality of low traffic.
"It was a business decision. The volume at the store wasn't enough to support a retail business. The online service avoids those overhead costs." While
the store attempted to support itself by
taking books on consignment and then
taking a portion of the sales price,
SUBtitles online is free. "The AMS
doesn't get anything out of it, except
goodwill," says Peets.
The online set-up also allows students to effectively earn more for their
textbooks in comparison to the old consignment system. Despite this, the
response has been underwhelming.
"Postings on the site haven't met our
expectations," says Peets. "I think that
people really appreciate retail when it
comes to a book. They like to be able to
see it feel it"
AMS VP Administration Josh
Bowman is somewhat befuddled by
the lack of traffic on the posting
boards. "It's funny .
because Joblink and "T^-ip TIRf*
Volunteer Connections
are similar posting Bookstore is Z. lot
services which are
used regularly, i guess more convenient
that it might be ■% r, .■••,. ,
explained by a lack of and 1 HI Willing lO
face time for *»' pay the erfra COSt
for that."
SUBtitles service."
There's at least one
student who always
checks the SUBtitles
website before buying
any books. Richard
Davis places the AMS
service at the top of his
shopping hierarchy. "I'll first look to
SUBtitles because I like to support the
student-run business options whenever possible. If I can't find what I'm
looking for therey I'll go check out the
big business options: www.Amazon.ca
or www.indigo.chapters.ca. The UBC
Bookstore is my last option."
As a supporter of student-run business, Davis might perhaps be interested in www.Kiwibooks.com, an independent web retailer that is specifically geared towards the Vancouver university textbook market Founded in
the summer of 2002 by Enrico Chir,
an SFU student, and two recent graduates, the website has experienced
rapid growth over the four semesters
it has been in operation.
Kiwibooks offers some savings as
compared to the university book
stores. For example, Campbell Biology
(6th Edition), which is a required
course book for Biology 121 at UBC, is
sold at the UBC Bookstore for $ 12 7.05
new. You can buy the same product
from Kiwibooks for $116.95. That
might not seem like much at first
glance, but that ten dollars might sure
look good in your pocket when it's
your turn to buy the next pitcher at
the Pit
Chir can offer better prices due to
much lower operating costs. "We don't
actually have a physical location and
we try to run our business as efficiently as possible," he explains. "We're
almost completely paperless. We feel
that overhead costs shouldn't be
passed on to students; as they are with
university bookstores."
Kiwibooks currently boasts about
4000 tides in its online catalogue—a
figure that, according to Chir, grows
consistently with each passing term.
Despite competing in an increasingly crowded marketplace and dealing with a young customer base very
willing to use online sources, the UBC
Bookstore has not experienced any
significant downturn in sales. Debbie
Harvie, who has been with the
Bookstore for 13 years, has found
sales figures to be consistent. As competition grows, so does enrolment,
customers for all
suppliers.
The sales figures
for September did
decrease somewhat
something that
Harvie says can be
explained ' by a
decrease in the average textbook price.
"It was very surprising to us that the
average price would
drop. It's almost
counterintuitive.*
But don't get too
excited. Harvie says
that January's interim projections seem to indicate prices
(and sales) returning to expected
levels.
The UBC bookstore will continue
to prosper if UBC student Colin
Enderud's attitude is any indication
of the common logic. Enderud has
tried several book-buying options
with limited success. "I've tried the
bulletin board thing and the used
bookstore in the Village, but that
hasn't really worked out for me," he
says. "The UBC Bookstore is a lot
more convenient and I'm willing to
pay the extra cost for that" Still,
Enderud is not quite finished looking
for other' alternatives. "Maybe I
should check out this website I've
been hearing about," he said. ♦
meaning more
Colin Enderud
UBC student
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\/P T-1 T\ C\ X\ C(± ^HE VlCE PRESIDENT> FINANCE, MANAGES
t lllWllVaV ! r.HAIUfi THP: piwancp rnMMissinh
THE FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF THE STUDENT SOCIETY. He
OR SHE CHAIRS THE FINANCE COMMISSION AND THE COMMERCIAL SERVICES PLANNING GROUP.
Questions to the candidates:
1) Do you think that the AMS should pursue
sponsorship as a source of revenue? How would
you deal with the tensions between corporatisa-
tion and maintaining autonomy?
2) Some have said that student fees are a disproportionate burden for students taking few
classes. Do you support relief for these students? If so, how would you deal with the loss
of revenue?
StaceyChiu, Student Progressive Action Network
1) I believe that sponsorship should be pursued by
groups that are ethical and have the best interest of students in mind. That being said, any revenue received
from sponsorship should be used for a rainy day fund
or special projects. Sponsorship is not a financially sustainable solution. The AMS ran into problems with corporate sponsorship from the Coke deal when the funds
received were incorporated into the operating budget
creating a situation where the AMS became dependent
on the revenue to support services and events offered.
I would deal with the tensions between corporatisation
and mamtainirig autonomy by not signing any exclusivity deals. I would also be cautious when signing any
agreements with groups by thoroughly researching the
company, especially its relationships with other universities, if any.
Joses Jain/
Jason Mok, Students for Students
2) I do support relief for these students. However,
I think one of the issues causing the feeling of a
disproportionate burden is lack of awareness of
the services student fees finance and the benefits
available to students, regardless of how many
classes they are taking. I have a strong interest in
communicating and promoting to students the
services they have paid for and the ability to
access. If students taking fewer classes are still not
satisfied with the amount of fees they are paying
and relief is provided, the loss of revenue would
be dealt with by looking to alternatives such as
fundraising and working to make the AMS businesses more profitable.
3) I plan to critically analyse each AMS business
1) I believe the AMS should pursue sponsorship as a
source of revenue, but it should not be relied on as the
primary source. It should be used as a complementary
source, which ensures events and services that benefit
the university community are maintained and possibly improved with consultation from student groups.
There are also many other advantages from obtaining
sponsorship. These benefits include increased expo-
sure of UBC to the national and international community and a more diverse network of contacts.
Through my personal experience, the most effective method of handling tension is communication. If
two parties don't talk, information is distorted and
understanding is lost To deal with the tensions
between corporatisation and maintaining autonomy, I
would ensure that all related parties keep open lines of
communication, proper information is distributed
and that at the end of it all, the decision made is in the
benefit of the student body.
2) I am currently taking few classes myself so I can
personally relate to this disproportionate burden.
This is why I do support relief for those students
taking few classes. One would be hard pressed to
convince a student taking three courses all year,
that they would still have to pay full student fees
because it is in the university's benefit. These students have their own personal reasons for taking
less courses, so their related student fees should
be charged accordingly.
However, if these students had their fees
reduced, it would directly reduce the amount of
revenue generated for the AMS. This leads to how
this loss would be dealt with. I would implement a
strategy that identifies alternative sources of revenue. This would include sponsorship from local
businesses and support from student groups,
alumni and staff. Also, the AMS-owned businesses
would also be looked to for support.
Patrick Pilarski, Radical Beer Faction
1) What is sponsorship really? A partnership between
two entities that ensure the siirvival of both, like the
Brazilian fire ants that live inside the Palo Santo tree,
or those funny fish that suck clean the skin of other
fish. I propose the use of a highly used and highly
addictive substance to ensure corporate support of
AMS endeavours. By coating the skin of all AMS executives with the common drug 'caffeine* we can create a culture of chemically dependent sponsors who
seek nothing more than one good lick of an AMS
executive to start their day off right Thus, they will be
itching to hear our pleas for cash, as they desperately try to orally acquire their daily pick-me-up off the
skin of our fiQe AMS executive. How's that for easing
tensions?
2) It does seem that student fees are disproportionate, especially when applied to those with a
'small* Course load. To counteract this, I propose
that the AMS create a reimbursement fund inversely tied to the stature of the student. Since the
amount of students under the height of 5'4" is
approximately proportional to the scaled average
of the student population taking less than the maximum course load, there will be a net financial
relief to the student body equivalent to $ 5 per inch
below 5'6*. Not only will this ease the financial burden on students, but I am confident that most reimbursements will be returned through liquor sales
at AMS-run drinking establishments, thus negating
the loss of revenue.
3) What is your business strategy for SUB businesses? How will you ensure your businesses
thrive despite internal competition and competition from campus developments?
with the Business Operations Committee and
develop strategies for each, including long term
marketing strategies. I hope to specifically examine ways the businesses can cut costs. I believe
that the skills I have developed as a Commerce
student are an asset that I would bring to the
Committee. I plan to ensure AMS businesses will
thrive despite competition from other locations
on campus by creating awareness for the fact that
all the profit from AMS business goes directly
back to students, benefiting them in funding the
services and events that the AMS has to offer. I
will also look into the possibility of implementing
an incentive program for purchasing from AMS
businesses such as collecting stamps when
making purchases. /
3) My business strategy is to ensure continued profitability in the short term and future. This means close
investigation of daily operations for the purpose of
reducing costs, increasing revenues and providing
qualify products and services for the student body.
This investigation would be performed with the close
consultation of business owners, so they would understand this investigation is for their benefit as much as
it is for the university's.
I would ensure the businesses thrive by closely
monitoring their actions on campus. This means that
there would be fair competition between businesses. I
would also look in to the current businesses and campus developments so the services and goods they provide do not overlap with one another resulting in can-
nibalization. Existing businesses and campus developments are essential to the growth of this campus and
diverse student body, which emphasizes the need to
have it addressed carefully and with student input /
3) I propose the use of evolutionary swarm theory to
ensure the survival of AMS run financial endeavours.
By allowing each business to create a set number of
replicas of itself per month, and instituting a strict rule
set to govern the placement and survival of each new
sub-business, it is possible to out-replicate competition
by at least a factor often. Through a highly customised
selection criteria and the forced cross-breeding and
mutation of business strategy, SUB businesses will
spread much more readily than current fixed endeavours. By allowing businesses to propagate beyond the
borders of the SUB, and even UBC, we will achieve full
commercial penetration in approximately 3 months,
with sub-colonies emerging a§ far away as Regina
and Arkansas. /
How
TO
VOTE
This year, the general student elections are being run online in an attempt to save on administration costs and to increase ACCESSIBILITY
TO VOTERS. THE FOLLOWING IS AN EASY THREE STEP APPROACH FOR MAKING YOUR VOTE COUNT:
i. Go to www.ams.ubc.ca/elections and click on "VOTE ONLINE."
2. Click on "WEB VOTE."
3. Logon at student services and click on "WEB VOTE" near the bottom of the task bar and off you go.
Unfortunately, students at the Vancouver School of Theology (VST) and Regent College cannot vote via Web Vote due to database limitations. However, AMS Elections will provide the traditional paper ballots at VST and Regent College.
If you have any problems logging in or voting via web-vote, please contact the Elections Committee at (604) 827 5325 or at
elections@ams.ubc.ca. To assist you, we will require your name (as it appears on your student card) and your birth date (for verification
purposes only). /
—AMS ELECTIONS
VI, Administration OF THE student uni
administration, oversees the day-to-day operations
Union Building, manages clubs through the Student
Administration Committee and chairs the renovations planning group.
Questions to the candidates:
1) Usually mundane SUB scheduling can at
times be challenging and has erupted in controversy. How will you balance interests of student
groups in such a situation?
1) With over 200 clubs and constituencies on campus, scheduling of the spaces within the SUB will of
course be a challenge. However, I will work hard to
ensure that student needs are first and foremost. A
balance must be struck between the need for regularly scheduled events and classes as well as the flexibility for clubs to run new and innovative events.
With the use of an online room bookings logbook,
clubs and other campus groups will be able to check
for room availabihty and plan accordingly. Through
my experience as the President of the Place Vanier
Residence Association I have had many opportunities in coordinating the needs of many different
groups all vying for the same resources. I feel that
both my experience and interpersonal skills will
serve me well in facilitating the scheduling of the
SUB in a manner which will serve the students of
UBC best
1) Controversy that can come down to what could be
accurately termed Dickering' usually doesn't involve
so much 'student group interest' as it does 'ego-feeding' and 'perceived obligation to care.' To appease
such feces-slinging antics, my policy regarding SUB
scheduling would address namely the needs of said
groups to be completely trolleyed during all meetings
and events. If those people who use the SUB most
are hot drunk, I suggest that they are not using the
building to its fulL intended potential, arid therefore
cannot address the needs of students, either. Also, if
three or four pitchers of lager don't cheer you up,
you're in need of a lot more personal satisfaction
1) In balancing the interests of student groups, the
key is to offer infant and relatively minor clubs with
an equal position to advocate their concerns and
needs relative to the major clubs of UBC. I believe
that the controversies that have risen in the past is
rooted back to the effect of lack of communication
between the AMS executive and the many different
clubs. As VP Admin, I propose more communication
through regular meetings with the major clubs of
UBC as well as multilateral forums for minor clubs to
voice out their opinions. A multilateral forum will
offer minor clubs with an equal standing to more
established clubs in advocating concerns.
2) The SUB is indeed the busiest building on campus,
1) Scheduling is a concern for all clubs, and I hope to
champion the concerns of those who have felt disadvantaged by previous scheduling systems. I have discussed with SAC the potential to raise money to
install wall mirrors in other SUB rooms, thereby creating more space for clubs who need such space. Are
you not tired of hearing everyone promise to do
something about scheduling for clubs week, and then
see them do nothing about it? I do not feel comfortable promising clubs things that cannot be done-
however, the concerns of clubs are of particular concern to I, and to SPAN. We will do everything that IS
possible, and lobby hard for it If you are concerned
about the relationship between your club and the
AMS Admin, talk to mel I am your representative,
and I hope to be able to discuss with clubs some of
their particular concerns.
2) The SUB is one of the busiest buildings on 3) How will you deal with safety and insurance
campus with a high consumption rate. How will for events involving alcohol in the SUB?
you ensure that the SUB strives towards environmentally friendly, socially ethical and sustainable practices?
Natarie Bootsma, Students for Students
2) Sustainability is of course a very important
topic. After speaking with various resource groups
on campus, I am very excited by some of the new
initiatives that they hope to bring to campus. If
elected, I will work diligently with campus groups
such as Waste Management and the Campus
Sustainability Office to ensure that UBC continues
to be a 'Green School' and a leader in waste management and envirionmental awareness. I will
push for a more prominent composting and recycling presence within the SUB, as well as spark
new initiatives.
To answer the socially ethical portion of the
question, I must start off by saying that student
needs are at the heart of why businesses exist in
the SUB. As such, I will insist on student consultation to ensure that the practices of campus businesses are congruent with what students want.
3) One of my main goals is to help facilitate successful
student-run events within the SUB. As such, I recognise the need for both regulations to ensure safety and
flexibility for the event organisers. Responsibility in
event plarining and execution is key, and I will make
this as easy as possible for student groups. In accordance with recent policy changes, I will spark initia-
fives that will allow groups to get the training they
require. I will also ensure that the UBC Alcohol Policy
(Policy 13) is followed so that no action is taken against
student groups which would prevent them from running events in the future.
Having said that I feel the need to review relevent
campus alcohol policies, and reconstruct any areas
that are too restrictive for students. I believe in responsibility, but also flexibility and providing groups with
the tools they need to run amazing and beneficial campus events. /
Paige Cooper, Radical Beer Faction
than a biased Club Daze timetable can offer.
2) Firstly, I believe that efficient space use is the most
important factor in ensuring sustainability. The massive space that is currently taken up by the Ubyssey
offices would be much more useful if taken up by a
campus-wide service, such as a micro-brewery or
pub. This coincides with the fact that campus really
only needs one newspaper, anyway, and the Arts'
Underground is already doing a spectacular job in
that respect.
3) Safety and insurance are really of secondary
nature when it comes to alcoholic events. More
important issues include: what kind of alcohol will be
served? What prices will be set? Will this wet event
be long, hard and satisfying? If not what punishment will be incurred? However, if safety is to be
addressed I can promise that security forces will be
augmented by a 'consolation prize' policy, wherein
underage drinking is discouraged by a minors-only
secondary activity offered concurrently with the bzzr
garden Said activity namely involves a personal
apology to eacri minor from the VP Admin (or a suitable proxy), a nice hug, and a meaningful kiss (which
may or may not involve tongue). /
and because of this fact, changes in the SUB must
take place immediately. Changes in the past have put
the SUB in the right direction towards a more environmentally friendly building, but further changes
are definitely needed. One key issue is the further
reduction of Styrofoam use in the SUB by 50 per cent
which will further the promotion of using recycled
products. Renovation of the SUB is needed greatly to
enhance the comfort of all students, especially solving the issue of leakage in the rooftop. Crowded club
offices and spaces need to be solved enlargement
while the introduction of new couches and furniture
in the lounges will raise the level of standard in the
SUB. The key issue my party and I are advocating is
a state of the art SUB.
Nick Mang, The Right Choice
3)In any event where alcohol is involved, the prevention of potential safety issues and risks are of
key concern and top priority. Awareness and
direct action is the key element to prevention of
any alcohol-related accidents.
By enhancing the free transportation program
around campus and by advocating for more security personals and devices such as campus telephones, safety issues and concerns will be lowered. Relative to this issue is with the safety
increase, the UBC drinking hotspot aka 'The Pit'
should be allowed to extend its hours on a busy
night such as Friday night for students to have
more fun. /,
Lyle Mcmahon, Student Progressive Action Network
2) Sustainability is a very great concern of mine, personally. There aje certain particular, realistic policy
changes that can be addressed to minimize environmental impacts. Styrofoam use must be discontinued, and sustainable energy alternatives must be
implemented. SPAN Executive candidates pledge to
donate 10 per cent of our salaries, if elected (that's
$ 10,000 collectively) to causes pertinent to our positions, if elected, I will contribute $2,000 to the Food
Co-ops initiative to create space in the SUB for a natural foods store. SPAN executives have introduced
fair-trade coffee to all AMS Businesses; I hope to
lobby for more sustainable products to students
(whether it be organic, or local, especially when it
comes from our UBC Farm!) All AMS Businesses
must be sustainable, and by prioritising them, we
will not have to rely on the outside, unsustainable
funding from corporations that couldn't care less
about the students of UBC.
3) I have been in close communication with our
current VP Admin, former SPAN candidate Josh
Bowman, on what can be done to maintain the
progress towards organising sucessful licensed
events in the SUB. We, the AMS, must work hard to
improve our working relationship with the UBC
Admin, because by proving our responsibility, we
will be allowed to function more independently.
This means implementing safety initiatives (which
SPAN is campaigning for!). Alcohol training programs not only make beer gardens safer, but give
the university more of a reason to trust clubs,
thereby giving us the opportunity to drink to our
livers' content /
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FDITOR1AI
THE UBYSSEY
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2004
VOLUME 8S ISSUE 29
EDITORIAL BOARD
COORDINATING EDITOR
Hywel Tuscano
NEWS EDITORS
Megan Thomas
Jonathan Woodward
CULTURE EDITOR
John Hua
SPORTS EDITOR
Jesse Marchand
FEATURES/NATIONAL EDITOR
Heather Pauls
PHOTO EDITOR
Michelle Mayne
PRODUCTION MANAGERS
Paul Carr
Iva Cheung
COORDINATORS
VOLUNTEERS
Sarah Bourdon
RESMRCH/LETTERS
Bryan Zandberg
The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of
British Columbia It is published every Tuesday and Friday by The. ■
Ubyssey Publications Society " ,' '
We are an autonomous, democratically run student organisation,
and aB students are encouraged to participate.
Editorials are chosen and written by the U&yssey staff. "They are the
expressed opinion of die staff, and do not necessarily reflect the
views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of
British Columbia
The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian .University Press
(CUP) and adheres to CUP's guiding principles.
AH editorial content appearing tn The Ubyssey is the property of The
Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and
artwork contained herein, cannot b& reproduce** without the- -
expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society. -
Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your
phone number, student number and signature (not for publication}
as wed as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will be
checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of
The Ubyssey, otherwise verification will be done by phone. The
Ubyssey reserves the right to edit submissions for content and
style.
"Perspectives" are opinion pieces oyer"30Q words but under 75Q
words and are run according to space.
"freestyies" are opinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members;
Priority will be given to letters and perspectives over freestyles
unless the latter is time sensitive. Opinion pieces will not be run-
until the identity of the writer has been verified. The Ubyssey
reserve? the right to edit submissions' according to length and style.
It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising
that if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS wil
not be greater than the price paid for the ad. the UPS shaH not be
responsible for slight changes or typographical errors that do not
lessen the value or the impact of the ad.
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room 24, Student Union Building
6138 Student Union Boulevard
Vancouver, B<S V6T 1Z1
tel: 604-822-2301
fax:604-822-9279
web: www.ubyssey.bcca
e-mail: feedback@ubyssey.bc.ca
BUSINESS OFFICE
Room 23, Student Union Building
; advertising: 604-822-1654
business office: 604-822-6681
fax: 604-822-1653
e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.bc.ca
BUSINESS MANAGER
Fernfe Pereira,
AD SALES "
Dave Gaertner
AD DESIGN „
Shalene Takara !
The election results are ini Not suprisingry the Ubyssey Student
Adrninistators (USA) party swept all the executive positional
* Dan McRoberta is the new president and ie supported by. VP .
Academic Jenn Steele. VP Internal' Laura Blue', VP
Administation Bryan Zandberg VP External Jon Woodward, and
VP Finance Megan Thomas. The USA party, elected on a pro-
capital punishment platform, has already executed Paul Carr,
Sarah Bourdon and John Hua (all three students were caught
cheating on their Poll Sci final last term), Ihdependants Jesse
Marchand and Heather Pauls were outraged by the results,
claiming the election was rigged. SPAM spokesperson Michelle
Mayne says she would like to see an immediate investigation. It
IS rumoured that candidates from the Wrong Choice (Paul
Evans. Hywel Tuscano, Levi Barnett and Peter Klesken) are
planning to stage a coup. Jordy Hamilton commented that il
students would acutally bother voting such abuses of power
could be avoided. The only good news is that the Fire Hydrant
was elected to the BoG,
, COVER PHOTO
Jordy Hamilton
COVER PESIGN
Paul Carr
V
Canadian*
University
Press
Canada Post Safes Agreamant Numaar 40878022
Robo-campaign
Candidates have begun tirelessly campaigning in a pageant of recognition and superficial platforms. Ten per cent (or less) of the student population will place their bets on what horse will actually go the distance in
the upcoming year after they are elected.
This means that 90 per cent can't even drag their asses to their computers to vote. In this election, the Ubyssey calls for the elimination of
executives, and the combination of their $20,000 salaries to create
$100,000 robots. We demand annual gatherings to open their chest-
plates and play with their policy. Their name recognition would gather
like a giant, metallic snowball and with faces that did not age, their popularity would be like their giant chainsaw arms and maniacal glowing
infrared eyes: immense. ROBOTS. Robots.
Oh, what's that? The technology isn't there yet? When they tried that
at SFU they malfunctioned and murdered the student population and
used their brains as batteries for the astral projection of Martha Piper's
imaginary friend Bort.
If ninety per cent of students are dumb—we'll just make fun of the
candidates.
The Right Choice. "The 'Right* Choice?' 'Don't get 'left' behind?'
These hackneyed slogans are all that the tired old campus right has to
offer. Joel McLaughlin, did Sir John A whisper them to you while you
tucked yourself in at night, or did ol' Stockwell deliver them in a wetsuit
and ocean spray? Judging from their tepid, soggy profile, probably the
latter.
And just what does traditional spectrum party politics have to do with
student politics anyway? We can see the confused elector walking out of
the polling booth now; *Oh, The Right Choice means the UBC Young
Conservatives? I thought it meant the correct choice. No one said this
test would be this hard...* -
Their platforms? Raising tuition and shrinking the AMS. I guess the
AMS would have to become a micro-hot So: Joel McLaughlin and The
Right Choice, you expect us to vote for this? Yeah, 'right'.
'."'.' SPAN: Ah, good, clean radical hippiedom. Well, it would be, if they'd
take a bath. ThatLyle McMahon'shair doesn't look like it's been washed
in 3 week,
Our female editors take that back.
..' Students' Progressive Action Network has toned it down a notch and
abandoned last year's focused and impassioned drive to donate $2000
of their $18,500 salary to the ailing Sexual Assault Support Centre
(SASC), and instead have opted for the shotgun method of firing $2000
at random causes—an afterthought tacked on to last year's campaign.
And, wait a minute, we don't know what that smell is when you get
close to those SPAM, er, SPANposterg...either it's perfume or we've had
a serious run-in with the Radical Beer Faction and we're seeing double:
Six Amina Raisl
Students for Students: Jeez. Posters...their heads are so...big^ And
their resumes...so long...god...and their platforms.,.so small...
Independents: Spencer Keys, Daphne Whoever, we admire your
courage. Blocks of nine posters look better than one, slates can afford
spot colour and even armed with ninja skills you will have a hard time
facing them before you vanish like a shadow in the night.
Radical Beer Faction: Thank God for beer. With what's being said in
this election, it's th# only thing that makes sense.
If Rob Cross could keep-it, to jokes and not get sentimental about
tuition, then we, might be more impressed. At least the fire hydrant is
keeping the same promises, as usual. We wonder who will lug it to meet-
LgsssKaKwaasKi** gnat Sp»fc $*%
\mmmtm>}JB!$L
ings if it wins.
And as for the nakedness, well, it's only good if you can assure us that
the naked people in senate will be good looking. Can you? Really?
Other observations: We think it is worth mentioning that when the
merry little candidates came down to our dungeon-like office to write
their spiel for our handy-dandy elections suppliment—which we know
you will read cqver-to-cover—some had a little trouble spelling their position correctly.
When we noticed the discrepency, we decided to start taking a count
S-e-n-a-te seemed to be the most difficult title, with half of the eight candidates managing to get the technicalities of the word correct We will
take pity on their souls, just this once, and not reveal who those clever
candidates are.
Not to mention one of them went at least 300 words over the word
limit But we won't mention that name either. You know who you are.
But jaded or not, be sure to vote because only ten per cent of the student body is deciding how to spend 9-5 million dollars, And that, as they
say, is pathetic. ♦ .'•'...
Shame on you, .AMS! Shame on you
" by Jo McFetrictge
. Q tempgra, o mores) ' f
",, 0, how tiresome to hear of yet (mother, AMS
" elections brouhafiia; 0, how yet again the AMS
.disgraces itself with its ridiculous behaviour.
I learned from the Ubyssey that three AMS
executives from last year's dominant Students
for Students (SfS) slate decided*, without the consent of 40 per cent of elected executives, ta arbitrarily remove Arts
Week posters featuring a future
candidate from a rival election
slate Student Progressive Action
Network (SPAN).
What were you thinking?!
Might I remind the AMS that there are, in the
very code of procedure, due processes which
deal appropriately with such elections disputes?
The AMS elections committee is expressly mandated with the adjudication of matters pertaining to elections—especially those concerning
allegedly dubious elections-related media.
This does not mean the elections committee
has authority over what posters the AMS is
'allowed' to publish concerning its internal
affairs. It does, however, have authority to make
rulings concerning electoral material. If SfS
executives unilaterally decided that the poster
was at all electoral in character, then by default
the matter should immediately have been
referred, in full, to the elections committee,
given that they do, in fact, havS sole jurisdiction
over electoral material. Arbitrary yanking-of-
m
nil
posters by rival candidate-executives is an outrageous conflict of interest
The three SfS executives are, in my opinion,
therefore caught in a very unflattering catch-22
of their own construction. If the material was not
electoral in character, then it certainly should
not have been yanked. If it was deemed elec-"
toral, it should have fallen under the only appn>
priate authority, that of the elections committee,-
which could then decide
. jA/hether the posters should be
allowed.to run as planned.
I understand ajso that. Ms
Ogembo. was-'solicited by a
senior AM§ administrator to ,
announce prematurely her candidacy in the
upcoming election to executives.'This could,
depending on interpretation, technically disqualify her from the elections. Regardless of
AMS intent, that solicitation was inappropriate
and unfair to Ms Ogembo.
0, the hypocrisyl During past elections, there
has never been any question, of certain candidates receiving AMS-related publicity during the
official campaign period. While incumbent candidates, such as Oana Chirila, have been featured on ostensibly unrelated AMS-related
media during the campaign period, then why is
it suddenly so contentious that a non-incumbent
candidate is in the same situation? This sort of
double-standard does nothing but reinforce the
status quo: those candidates from dominating
administrations are offered an unfair advantage
over those attempting to bring in badly needed
new blood to the AMS administration.
Rationally, either the standard is applied to
all candidates, and no candidate is allowed to be
featured on AMS-related media during campaign periods, or all candidates are allowed to
do so.. Please I No half-measures seemingly deliberately designed to unfairly advantage the ruling
class,
. ■..To the fyranzu'who made this extremely poor
judgment: what blatant conflict of interest! Did
you? not anticipate this resultant backlash?
Conflict of interest is a huge problem in the
AMS. Why are potential candidates permitted to
siton the hiring committee of the elections officers? Why, despite years of complaints concerning blatantly nepotistic hiring practices, has the
AMS never instituted an"unaffiliated, unbiased
hiring committee? I recall Laura Best's still-
vacant campaign promises to rectify this situation Yet under her tenure the situation has
become intensified, not rectified. Furthermore,
egregiously inappropriate employees, against
whom serious grievances concerning illegal conduct have been lodged, continue to enjoy Laura's
patronage and friendship (coincidence?). I find
Laura's lamentation against decisions rooted in
conflict of interest somewhat incendiary.
Please! No more slates in AMS elections! Let
survival of the fittest drown the unworthy in the
muddy waters of AMS politics. ♦
—Jo McFetridge is the Ex-AMS Elections
Administrator, 2000-01 and a Graduate
Student, Classical Archaeology Board of Governors
Question for Board of Governors:
1) How will you bring student concerns to the Board of Governors and how
will you ensure other Governors listen? ^
The UBC Board of Governors is the highest
decision-making body of the university.
Student representatives to this Board represent STUDENT INTERESTS ON MATTERS OF MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATION OF PROPERTY REVENUE, BUSINESS AND AFFAIRS OF UBC.
Mia Amir, Student Progressive Action Network
Fire Hydrant, Radical Beer Faction
How will I make the BoG hear
me? Those who know me, who
have organised alongside me,
will tell you that it is hard to not
know that I am in a room when
I arrive. I have extremely
strong communication skills
and research skills, meaning
that when I attend BoG meetings, I will be informed and
articulate when addressing
issues of concern to students. I
have worked in many a collective setting, in government
bodies and on the grassroots
level. I understand the ways in
which I will need to speak the
language that BoG speaks while
not compromising the message I am trying to realise on
behalf of the student body.
More than that though, I am
going to be pushing for greater
student representation at BoG
meetings—that all meetings be
open to students—and as many
students that want to attend,
can. Through the AMS I plan to
set up a situation whereby the
BoG will no longer be able to
ignore the integral role that students play on thi3 campus—the
very reality that this campus
would not exist without students—through ensuring that
each BoG meeting is attended
by MANY student representatives. I will, with Olivier, the
other SPAN candidate running
for BoG, push for greater student representation on BoG
itself. /
How will I bring student concerns to BoG? How do you
think—in a bucket?! What a stupid question! I'll use stacks of
paper and my keen hydrant
memory and I'll rant and filibuster until every concern has
been heard.
My excellent diplomatic
skills are not in question—my
ability to put out fires is legendary and I'm very nearly
immovable once I take a position. While Board members are
not, in general, students, I suspect they'll drink beer too. If a
couple two-fours and a gallon of
wine don't get them agreeing
with me, I'll move from the
proverbial carrot to the stick.
As a fire hydrant, I'm
renowned for my water-spraying abilities. I'm designed for
very high pressures and output enough to knock Martha
off her chair and possibly
through a wall I'll attempt to
convince the other Board members of my position one by one
and eventually they'll either
notice the pattern and agree
with me, or I, the surviving
BoG, will be unanimous.
Shameless plug: Visit
http://radicalbeerfaction.tri-
pod.com for more information
on my platform, casters and
policies, and Vote,
Goddammit!' Preferably for
me. Thank you. /
Brian Duong, Students for Students
The BoG sits to discuss issues
ranging from tuition policy,
budget allocation, campus
development and long ranging
plans. There are IS members
on the BoG, only 2 of whom are
students. As your Board representative, I want to ensure that
student concerns and interests
are brought to the Board in a
professional and effective manner. I will work collaboratively
with the AMS to bring reason-
based arguments to the table,
lobby with individual members
and bring about positive
change at the committee leveL
Through being your AMS VP
Finance, a teaching assistant
and a Commerce (Finance) student, I can keep the university
accountable, especially in its
budget allocation and tuition
policy. I will ensure that every
dollar that students pay for
tuition goes to benefit us
through better classrooms,
more sections and better quality professors. In addition, I will
spearhead student consultation
processes in order adequately
represent the opinions of the
student community on campus
development and plans for the
University Town. Between
January 17-23, remember to
vote for Brian Duong and the
Students for Students team .
Please visit our website
www.studentsforstudents.ca
for more information.
Cheers!/
Olivier Plessis, Students Progressive Action
Network
The fact students only have
two seats out of IS on the
BoG, while there are 40,000
students on campus, clearly
shows we are hugely under-
represented. Our ability to get
BoG members to listen to us is
obviously limited by the structures given to us, so it is
important that any student
who is elected to the Board
maximises the importance of
his or her seat both inside and
outside the Board structure. I
will do this by bringing the
BoG to the students through
frequent forums and discussions, liaison with the AMS
and generally making sure
students are informed and
interested about what is going
on a Board level. With this
support from an informed
student body, the concerns I
raise at the Board level, such
as fighting any tuition increases and ensuring that campus
development is a reflection of
student needs, will carry the
weight of the entire campus.
Board members cannot
ignore the opinion of 40,000
students, regardless of
whether we have two seats or
15. Over time, with increased
student support, I hope to
reform the Board structure to
accurately emphasise the
importance of students on
Campus. /
Daphne Hamilton-Nagorsen
Surina Sproul, Students for Students
Any change on campus will
affect students. As a BoG representative, it is my job to bring
student issues and concerns to
the Board and to ensure that
they hear and acknowledge
these concerns. UBC claims
that decisions at the Board are
always made in the best interests of the University, but
many students would disagree
with this. The composition of
the Board impacts its decisions—students are the largest
group on campus, but only
have two seats out of 15 on the
BoG. Students need strong representatives at the Board to
ensure that our voice is heard
clearly.
The voice of the students on
this campus is a strong and
loud one. Ensuring that the
other Governors listen to what
I have to say is not that hard; it
is getting them to hear and
acknowledge what I have to say
that will be the challenge. I will
talk to students and bring their
concerns to the Board. I will
ensure that other Governors
hear what I have to say by
bringing up the concerns of
students and repeating them
as often as necessary. As I have
learned over the past year, you
often need to repeat yourself
before the University hears
you. Students should feel that
the University hears them. /
I can provide a strong, passionate and knowledgeable voice to
the BoG to represent the best
interests of students. Having
been involved in campus and
student life over the past four
years, I feel I have the experience to present a fair and reasonable stance on issues. I
have attempted to five up to the
motto, "I AM UBC,' by getting
involved.
I will work towards affordable tuition and increased
financial aid. Because of
tuition increases in the past
year-and-a-half, it is time the
university prepared an annual
report to students on the allocation of tuition dollars to
make sure it's benefiting students. The design of the
University Boulevard development should employ meaningful student consultation from
constituencies and student
groups. It is the responsibility
of the university to provide it
and the Board to monitor it.
Only two students sit on the
Board—it is crucial to ensure
that other members are persuaded to see the value in
meaningful student consultation rather than trying to force
change without realistic direction. I believe I have the drive
and skills to work with the
Board in creating positive and
tangible change. / PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, January 16,2004
thfaV'ubyssey magaxlne'
CULTURE
Kudos to Kafka
UBC Theatre's collaborative effort breaks
through with first English translation of.'TC"
K.
at the Frederic Wood Theatre
until Jan. 24
by Sarah Bourdon
CULTURE STAFF
What is the meaning of life? That
is the question addressed by the
main character in Director Martin
Tulinius's "K.,' a play that endeavours to look at the fife of Franz
Kafka. Being performed for the
first lime in English, fKi" is a collaboration involving Theatre at
UBC and a Danish theatre company. *K.' paints a disturbing and
" chaotic picture of life and death.
The story focuses on Kafka's
reflections on his past, simultaneously exploring powerful philosophical issues, the contrast
between reality and delirium and
the forces of intellect and emotion.
The central purpose of the- play,
says Tulinius, is to explore the
human soul and the inner struggle
between darkness and light
For those unfamiliar with
Kafka, he wasborn in P.rague in
1885 and grew up in a middle-
class Jewish family. He obtained a
degree in law and spent his time
working and writing short stories
and novels until he contracted
tuberculosis in his early 30s, living
the last years of his life in sanato-
riums and hospitals. These final
years provide the basis for *K." The
main character (who is, not surprisingly, called K) is ill and confined to a sanatorium, where he is
told that he is going to die. .
The first scenes, despite the
obvious seriousness of the situa
tion, are clever and funny, capturing the absurdity of Kafka's medical treatment. But as the play progresses, this absurdity becomes
less amusing and more tragic as
K's obviou3 distress and unrecognised; brilliance consume him.
Here the play deals with the intrusive nature of illness, and the contrast between Kafka's declining
body and his fight to keep his mind
from following a similar path.
Actor James Long's performance as the troubled, frustrated
artist who longs for peace is the
driving force of the play. Long
lends genuine emotion to a difficult role and convinces the audience of the pain of his character.
K's desperation, with his constant
rantings about the heat and bugs
that he believes afflict him, make
it almost physically uncomfortable
to watch him at times.
The other characters, including
K's monotone, controlling doctor
(played by Norman Armour), and
Lifith, the temptress who both critiques and seduces K (played
by Karin Konoval), contribute to the
nightmarish confusion and delirium that characterise the story.
Minu3 a few humourous
moments, "K." is fairly dark and
depressing. Accompanied by eerie
music and dressed with monochromatic sets and costumes, the
play conveys to the audience the
bleak, oppressive atmosphere of
the sanatorium and the stifled creativity of Kafka.
Despite the darkness of it all,
Tulinius still manages to capture
the light and intensity of Kafka's
brilliance and pay tribute to his
talent as a writer. Tulinius writes,
"K." was not written to solve,
explain or even come closer to
some adamant truth about Kafka,
but to hold up a mirror to our current existence and our growing
feeling of powerlessness when
confronted with the big questions
of life.'♦
NOTICE OF PARKING AREA CLOSURE
B5 Parking Lot will be permanently closed as of Monday, January 19th, 2004.
The closure of this parking area is for the development of the mid-campus
neighbourhood plan.
Please consult the map below for alternate parking locations on campus.
For more information on alternate parking locations, please contact UBC Parking
& Access Control Services at either our website at www.ubcparking.com, visit
our parking office at GSAB or call 604-822-6786 during regular business hours.
File under 'Glass'
PHILIP GLASS
The Etudes and other works for
solo piano
at the Chan Centre for the
Performing Arts
performing Jan. 18
by Bryan Zandberg
CULTURE STAFF
y
The world has never known what to
make of Philip Glass. He's been a
pariah to the classical music establishment a hip eclectic playing at
parties in downtown New York lofts,
a founding figure of the controversial
minimalist movement a collaborator with rock and pop stars and, as of
late, a recognised influence of ambient electronica. Glass has been
scoffed at as an idiot and revered as
a visionary. So just what is all the
hoopla about, anyway?
The typical response has something to do with Glass' four-decade
long refusal to carry on the serialist
tradition of European classical
music in favour of a tonalistic
approach, which has lent itself to
the heterogeneous nature of his oeu-
vre. Then there's the Eastern influence, the fruit of his research in
North African, Himalayan and
Indian sound and technique, which
helps to account for the concentric
spiritual vigour of his music.
Looking at what he's produced
over the years, it's no wonder there
has been this outpouring of opinion—Glass has composed music for
opera, theatre, dance, film, chamber ensemble and orchestra,
though never in a conventional
way. Glass' first success lends a bit
of insight into his maverick musical
bent While a benchmark in 20th
century music-theatre, the five-hour
ppera, "Einstein on the Beach,'
scored by Glass in 1975, was a sort
of souped-up absurdist concoction
of performance art, dance, words
(singing sequences of numbers and
steps of the scale) and music, all
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mingled with liberal doses of premeditated randomness. Balance
that with the fact that he wrote the
film scores for Candyman parts one
and two. Maybe bis soundtrack for
He Hours redeems him from this
latter sin. It was nominated for an
Oscar, at any rate.
Most recently, his music has
been called "high art for listeners
steeped in rock rather than the classics." But for now, perhaps the
catch-all 'art music' will have to
stand in as a sort of provisional
truce in the war of monikers stirred
up by the creative output of Mr
Glass. Yet as avant-garde as all this
sounds, critics of late have been
pointing to Glass' return to his classical roots (he studied atjulliard and
in Paris under Nadia Boulanger), at
least in terms of harmony and style.
But what you ask, does any of this
have to do with anything? The
answer to this question is not much,
at least not much more than to give a
context that will likely be melted
away the instant Philip Glass strikes
the first note at his solo recital at the
Chan this weekend. With any luck,
the Etudes and the arrangements
he'll play from a wide selection of his
music will alter the way we look at
music from here forward. That or we
can wait around for music history to
make up its muddled mind. ♦
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University Village
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Conveniently located In the Village above Staples
#228 - 2I55 Allison Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1E3 Senate
Question for senators:
1) What issues do you plan to bring to Senate, and how will communicate these efforts to students?
The student representatives on Senate are elected
to represent student interests on matters related
TO the academic functioning of the university.
Elect five.
Gina Eom, Students' Progressive Action
Network
Sarah Martz, Student Progressive Action
Network
Though student seats are greatly outnumbered on senate by
faculty and other members,
the majority of the policies on
senate are created at the com:
mittee level. I will work
towards creating more student
input at the committees, especially the academic policy and
teaching and learning committee, for an increased dialogue
between senate and the students on academic issues. I
will also work with the undergraduate societies as well as
AMS council to reach out to
students, for example by establishing anonymous academic
suggestion boxes in student
lounges.
As the current Internal
(Academic) Vice President of
the Science Undergraduate
Society, chair of the SUS
Academic committee and as a
teaching assistant, I am aware
and in touch with both graduate and undergraduate students about their academic
concerns such as clustered
exam schedules that disables
them from showing their full
academic performance. I will
continue to work on the current exam reform to extend the
definition of an exam hardship
from 24-hours to 36-hours.
I am also dedicated towards
establishing an officially recognised 24-hour study space on
campus for students.
I am running with a caring
and qualified group of students called SPAN, and you
can find out more about us at
www.studentprogress.ca. /
UBC's Senate has 88 members, 18 of which are student
reps. Overall, this is the place
where issues concerning academics at UBC are discussed
and policies made. A primary
concern to me is having student opinions voiced and
since students are facing
increasing tuition fees and
class sizes, I personally advocate for quality education
accessible to all. To achieve
this goal, I plan to strengthen
links between undergrad and
graduate student societies
and work with them on bringing forth a united student
voice on academic issues. I
will also focus on the teaching
and learning environment at
UBC. This includes giving students and teaching staff
rights to learning environments that support quality
education, and this issue
includes class size regulation.
As well, I want to promote
interactive learning in class
and programs that give students hands-on experience.
Finally, another issue is the
proposed campus development, which Senate needs to
be made aware of and how
these plans will affect the student community and learning
environment /
Torill Gillespie, Student Progressive Action
Network
The most important thing I
want to accomplish is to
make sure policymakers who
make decisions on behalf of
students hear your voice and
are given the opportunity to
put your ideas in action. I
want to work with the teaching and learning, committee
to help the university move
away from traditional lecture-
style learning toward more
interactive and innovative
teaching methods such as student-led courses. I plan to
promote the importance of
hands-on learning experience
and advocate for greater flexibility in course options and
more diversity in course curriculum. I want to work with
the policy committee, in consultation with students and
teaching staff, to rework class
sizes to allow for increased
communication between students and their professors.
Online professor profiles
including students' evaluation need to be made mandatory and made available to
students in all faculties. I
plan to make this happen.
The senate needs to be made
more approachable and open
to student input and I plan to
do this by both listening to
my fellow students and working to involve student associations to a greater degree in
academic policy. For more
information, please visit
www.studentprogress.ca. I
look forward to hearing from
you! Vote SPAN, a student
movement in action. /
Jo Krack, Radical Beer Faction
Far too little importance is
placed upon a student's commitment to university-level
partying when scholarship
decisions are being made. A
student's alcohol tolerance
and proficiency in mixing
drinks should be weighted at
least as heavily as their grade
point average, if not more so.
No student should be forced to
nurse a beer because they simply can't afford to get drunk!
Such a situation is" an unacceptable tragedy, and I cannot
let it continue! Elect me and
your hard drinking will earn
you more beer money!
If elected to Senate, I would
also address the issue of alcohol education. It is vital that
students learn to mix drinks,
to chug, to boat-race, to avoid
vomiting and hangovers and to
speak out for the rights of
drinkers everywhere. It is high
time that seasoned drinkers
were hired to teach practical
courses leading to a Bachelor
of Beer degree. In addition, to
support students who may be
struggling with increasing
their alcohol tolerance, 'hangover* will be henceforth
accepted as a valid medical
excuse for missing an exam or
failing to turn in an assignment
So come on. For the love of
beer, vote Jo Krack and the
Radical Beer Faction! /
Andy Nguyen
The three main issues that I
will bring to the Senate will be
professor evaluation and a
campus-wide 24-hour study
area. Many students are resorting to internet websites to
determine whether a professor
is good o/ not and I feel that
any odd web site is not a good
way to determine the schedule.
If the AMS made the teacher
evaluations online it would be
much more credible. Last
semester I had to resort to
studying at SFU because UBC
did not have the facilities
Mel Parker
where students can study
peacefully during any time in
the day. We need to create and
designate areas towards 24-
hour study locations.
Personally, I like to keep
myself in different environments around campus and I
feel this will allow me to communicate not only to certain
groups but various groups. I
will make an effort to attend
fundraisers of various clubs
and campus organisations to
develop a census of how people feel about certain issues. /
Kristen Read, Radical Beer Faction
There is an extremely relevant
problem in the senate which
must be addressed immediately: lack of male nudity. Sure,
f m nude, Jo Krack is nude,
Melissa Parker is nude, but
we're alone. We have beer,
nudity and no men. WTF?
Sure, we have naked pillow
fights and the occasional
'who's panties look better on
the floor?* debate, but it's just
- not satisfying enough. This is a
blatant injustice and systemat
ic oppression of the male spirit right here on campus and
personally, I want to take
action now. I want naked men
on senate. If elected I promise
to established an endowment
fund to help naked male candidates with their expenses, hold
male nudity support groups,
and provide free beer to all
those who support my cause.
MORE MALE NUDITY!
VOTE KRISTEN! /
Senate candidates continued on
next page. 8
isPOt^Ts
the ubyssey' magaxine'
PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, January 16,2004
Flu can't stop nordic ski team
First race proves team strength and ski
by Jesse Marchand
SPORTS EDITOR
After the first meet of the season,
the nordic ski team is already making tracks. With only one competition under their belt, team skier
Greg Egan has already been named
athlete of the week, in the BC Cup
series, after a third place finish in
the men's ten km and a first place
finish in the 800m freestyle sprint
on Sunday.
The racers had their first meet
at 100 Mile House, a place UBC
skiers Jessica Hanson and Pamela
Syposz say is one of the best places
in BC for nordic skiing.
The nordic ski team boasts 13
varsity members and around 20
club team members. The main difference between the groups is the
practices. While the varsity team
has scheduled meets and practices; the club team is much more
casual, only attending meet3 and
practices occasionally. Hanson and
Syposz are both varsity skiers in
their second year on the team. "We
go up skiing twice a week," says
Syposz. Added to that, the team
does three dry-land practices a
week and each athlete has their
own physical regimen.
So far the practice method has
worked for the team. Despite winter flu bugs keeping some skiers at
home, the team still managed top
finishes. In the senior men's ten
km, Luke Heckrodt was the top finisher for UBC placing second with
a time of 31:32. While Egan took
third, student coach Roger
McMillan skied to a fifth-place finish, despite a nagging cold. In the
men's Master ten km, Mike Koehle
took the top honours with a finish
of41:35.
The women also fared well in
the five km, with Syposz taking second in the senior women's category and Hanson and Natalia
Chaikina taking fourth and fifth
respectively. Janet Young also had
a good race, finishing second in
the Junior women's category.
In Sunday's 800m sprints the
team also had strong finishes,
especially the men who filled Up
much of the top ten. After Egan
UPCOMING FILMS
Screenings @ Norm Theatre in SUB
Admission: $3 and Membership: $20
Film Society Hotline: (604) 822-3697
http://www.ams.ubc, ca/clubs/filmsoc
Frt. Jan 16 - Sun. Jan 18
7:00PM- Runaway Jury
9:30PM - Matchstick Men
Wed. Jan 21 ~ Thurs. Jan 22
7:00PM -The Tune
9:30PM - Yellow Submarine
Frf. Jan 23 - Sun. Jan 25
7:00PM - Scary Movie 3
9:30PM-Kill Bill: Volume 1
"Brown 6ag it
. j:/;.;. Bring your dinner to
the photo seminar
with guest speaker
Tuesday January 20 at 6pm photographer
SIVB24 'Richard lam
okay ofzay,j>Cease don't hring this cute CittCe the UBYSSEY
rahhitfor dinner. 'Animafs are our friends. since 1918
CO <,,iv.;«s,i*.«/.*«85. &ffftw^&***%&&&
To cerebrate
The Essential
Musk Tour
in Vancouver atthe
Commodore
Ballroom
on January 17,
The Ubyssey is
shamelessly
giving away:
GRAND PRIZE:
3 CD pack consisting
of new CDs from
Eve 6, Yellowcard
& Jersey.
ADDITIONAL
PRIZES: 3, or more,
Essential Music Tour
compilation CDs.
Come to room 23
in the SUB.
took first, Heckrodt took second
with McMillan in fifth. Jon
Pellicelli and Clayton Enga took
seventh and eighth. In the men's
Juniors, the top five was nearly
completely dominated by the T-
Birds as Elliot Holtham, Davey
Mitchell, Adam Airoldi and
Andrew BaTakshin took in second
through fifth respectively.
For the women, it was a close
race on Sunday which ended with
Hanson taking a second-place finish, just seconds away from first.
While Syposz and Chaikina took
fourth and fifth, Janet Young once
again managed a second-place finish in the Junior category.
While competition at these
events is fierce, there is very little
varsity competition. "We compete
against club skiers from other
provinces but the only other university is [the university of
Northern British Columbia]
UNBC," says Hanson.
But UNBC is not their arch-rival
just because of their university status. They are also a very tough
team to compete against. When
PART OF THE TEAM: Luke Heckrodt, Pamela Syposz and Jessica
Hanson are ready and willing to talk about this year's nordic ski
team. Michelle mayne photo
asked if they felt UNBC was worthy
competition, both Hanson and
Syposz replied in unison, "They've
got some strong skiers."
And UBC will also have to stay
strong to keep up as as the nordic
season is short one. 'We usually do
three races and send some people
to Nationals,' says Syposz. But
\
Can the following students come to
SUB 23 to recieve a special Ubyssey gift?
TaraAzimi Gabriel Chen
Emergene Sam Sigal Stein
RexTurna Jason Young
85
years
I da read
THE UBYSSEY
StM getting picked up at 85.
Are you considering a career as an architect?
If you enjoy designing
and you're interested in buildings and cities,
consider studying
architecture at r
Dalhousie University j
i i
r >
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■ii
University students who will soon be completing '.^e r second year cf :•
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Dalhousie's four-year architecture program. T're progiam leads *o £ »
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\
I
unlike the alpine team, the nordic
team doesn't have to do much traveling as most of their regular competition happens in BC.
Their next meet comes up soon,
as they head to Prince George on
January 23. As usual, they will go
for two days, racing on both
of them. ♦
.fil;l|::
'V* • H i
U al - - 'a.
«. ■ ■ I "• "J
St
Yep, this is guy is
water-skiing on the
street. Know of any
other weird sports
that UBC students are
competing in? Like
say, underwater hock-.
ey, or those guys that
pull trucks by their
teeth? If so let us
know. We can't promise we'll do anything
with that information, but we might.
Email
sports@ubyssey.bc.ca
While you're at it,
write some sports for
the Ubyssey. We love
new writers!!!
the Ubyssey
SUB 24
822-2301
CRAZY SPORTS
SINCE 1918
«,:> Senate (continued from p.7)
Aaron Semaniuk, The Right Choice
This election is about challenging
preconceived notions about what
our university can provide and
offering fresh perspectives that
will give our university a renewed
prosperity. I believe we must
review our instructor evaluation
process by making it more extensive and affording it more
impact. By giving this review
more weight we can eliminate
any complacency in the classroom and ensure our students
are receiving a world class education. In addition I feel we must
push to increase our distance
education program. I believe this
initiative will grant our students
more flexibility in the future.
Finally, it is important to increase
the transparency of our AMS senate. I feel that many students
deserve an academic body that
will foster more student dialogue
and interaction. This can be
accomplished by a review of the
AMS web page and with an
increase in press releases. In
addition to these initiatives, I am
the only senate candidate that is
running on an agenda to increase
corporate activity on the university which I believe is the answer to
our current fiscal dilemma. To
find out more about our slate visit
www.therightchoice.com. It's
time for change and The Right
Choice is your answer. /
Marnee Tull, Students for Students
I plan to focus on three main
issues that are affecting the UBC
student body as a whole. I want
to create accurate and reliable
professor evaluations so that students will be informed when
making class and professor
selections. I will advocate for a
greater investment in resources
for students and professors to
increase the quality of your education. Lastly, 1 will push to
increase accessibility to all UBC
courses, in particular required
courses, so that students can take
the classes they want and need.
I will communicate my
efforts to the students through as
many avenues as possible.
Holding student forums, having
regular office hours, using the
many different newspaper publications on campus and by being
involved in as many UBC activities as possible so that I can be
in contact with UBC students by
talking to the students one on
one. In addition I plan to be
highly accessible to all UBC students so that I can hear their
concerns and represent their
voices.
Enjoy the campaign and be .
sure to VOTE! /
Carla Tanaka, The Right Choice
The main issue that I plan to
bring to Senate is that of housing.
Having lived in residence for two
years already, I am quite distraught at the fact that I will probably not have the chance to live in
residence for my third or fourth
year. I have become accustomed
to the lifestyle of residence and
have met many great people
whom I consider to be great
friends. I am very disappointed
in the fact that we had not heard
about the changes, of residence
based on the lottery system until
very recently. I have heard UBC
continously being compared to a
campus like that of UVic, which
only has residence,for a very
small portion of their students,
but there are very important differences. UVic is a community
campus, it is easily accessible by
buses, by the community and
does not have a far commute.
UBC, on the other hand, is a commuter carhpus, we are separted
from the city and the communtity
of Vancouver. We are our own
individual,city in which it is a hassle to commute. When my father
came here 20 years ago, he had
the chance to live in residence his
entire school years, I am hoping
that I will be given that same
opportunity./
Dan Yokom, Students for Students
Of all the university groups, I feel
Senate has the greatest potential
for meaningful academic
changes to benefit all UBC students. One issue in particular
that I feel needs to be addressed
is the cuts made to the Work
Study program. This program
provides real career-related
work experience and enables
students to make money to pay
tuition. Another important issue
is that I hope to follow through
with a current proposal to
change exam hardship guidelines by extending the current
hardship period. Often the work
of students on Senate is lost due
to turnover and I hope that I will
be able to continue this project
to completion since it is so
important to students. Finally, I
feel that there is not enough
transparency when it comes to
appeals on academic standing
and academic discipline, and I
hope to press the adrninistration
to become more accountable for
these decisions. On all these
issues, student awareness is
very important and a general
student voice would go to further
these efforts. Therefore, I hope
to raise awareness through
web postings, forums and classroom announcements to enable
students to have their voices
heard. / '•-
Student Legal Fund Society
Question for SLFS directors:
1) To what specific projects do you plan to allocate SLFS funds,
which include a $1 fee from each student?
The directors of this society are responsible for
setting policy and for pursuing the projects of the
Student Legal Fund Society.
Edward Cheung
Joel McLaughlin, The Right Choice
Helen Cheung
Jason Metcalfe
Paul Dhillon
Serving as Secretary and
Treasurer of the SLFS for the
past year I have worked with the
rest of the Board of Directors to
ensure the restoration of the
society. If elected to the board for
the 2004-2005. term I hope to
continue to fund student litigation which will serve the greater
interests of UBC students, this
being part of the core mandate
of the SLFS. In addition to tln> I
hope to make the society's benefits more widely known to the
rest of the student population.
The successes for the society
were numerous over the past
year. We now have a solid, sleek
web presence (designed by
www.westwave.net) and members can now sign up online
from the comfort of their own
homes. In addition to this the
SLFS hired a summer student,
providing employment for a UBC
student In the next year, I would
work to allocate funds toward
maintaining an active, efficient,
office space and promoting the
visibility of the society to more of
the UBC student population
while funding more student litigation. For more information on
the SLFS please visit
www.slfs.org or email the society
at slfs@slfs.org. UBC for Ul /
Ryan Morasiewicz
The mandate of the SLFS is to
fund litigation that will improve
education, access to education,
or be of general concern to UBC
Students. Cases can come to the
SLFS in one of two ways: through
student applications for funding,
or through SLFS Directors seeking out issues to fund (for example, by applying for intervenor
status on other lawsuits).
Because of this nature, it is
difficult for SLFS directors to
anticipate exactly how the SLFS
funds will be allocated. This
depends on what cases are
brought to us for Consideration,
the relative merits and their
relation to our Constitutional
mandate. Similarly, we cannot
forecast the' nature and quality
of any potential test cases that
may arise throughout the year.
As a law student and former
'member of the UBC Senate, I
have particular interest in the
academic appeals power of the
Senate. In particular, I believe
students would benefit if these
decisions were susceptible to
judicial review by a court of law.
In order for this to occur, a
precedent setting decision
would have to be sought If such
a test case were to come to my
attention, it is an issue I would
fully pursue with SLFS funds.
For more information on the
SLFS, visit www.slfs.org. /
Ubyssey Publications Society
President: Esther Abd-Elmessih
Directors: Paul Dhillon
Nazanin Hozar